Consequences
by fangs-all-mine1123
Summary: "A few bruises, a few cuts…What happened to you, Max?" "I don't remember," I mumbled as the man, Fang, let his hands move over my torso. "But I don't think it's appropriate for you to be feeling me up right now. We just met." Fax. Follows Choices. [Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. All rights reserved to James Patterson. No infringement or copyright intended.]
1. Chapter 1

**Consequences**

**A/N: Hey… **

**I told myself not to put this up until I was 100% sure, but I'm getting anxious and want to see what y'all think! Plus, many of you are anxious, as well. TRUTHFULLY, I'm only about 67% sure. I have about that much truly written, too. So updates may be scattered. But, here it is. Without further ado. **

**Thanks so much for reading. **

**WARNING: This story is the **_**third **_**- and **_**last **_**- in a trilogy. In order to actually understand what is going on, I highly recommend reading **_**Risks **_**and then **_**Choices**_**, both of which can be found by clicking on my name. **

**DISCLAIMER: James Patterson and I are not the same person. In fact, the closest we've come to meeting is when I watched that one episode of **_**Castle **_**and JP was playing poker with the main guy. Yup. I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**[Summary for **_**Consequences**_**: "A few bruises, a few cuts…What **_**happened **_**to you, Max?" "I don't remember," I mumbled as the man, Fang, let his hands move over my torso. "But I don't think it's appropriate for you to be feeling me up right now. We just met." Fax. Follows **_**Choices**_**.]**

**This story is probably not what any of you have been expecting. I hope that is a GOOD thing. **

**Okay. Here we go. **

**One Week Ago**

"_Why don't you ever let me do anything fun_!"

The dreaded question. Fang sighed.

"Because I exist only to make your life miserable."

She shrieked in rage. She'd had this _tantrum _thing down since she was three, which meant Fang had been dealing with it for…uh…twelve years now?

Fang rolled his eyes. This happened a lot lately. Apparently normal teenagers had…_different _aspirations in life than he and Max did way back when. Aria, for instance, wanted to go to parties and go on dates and get clothes and electronics and cars and allowance…

Fang could only remember wanting to survive to see another day.

But now it was time for Fang to be the parent he never had.

Not fun.

"Dad!" she pleaded. She was across the kitchen island, her hands pressed to the marble counter top. She stared up at him.

"Who bought you that shirt?" Fang asked, raising his eyebrow.

"You're changing the subject!"

Fang knew anyway. He made a mental note to have a chat with Nudge about her influence on Aria's wardrobe. _More fabric, less skin_.

"Give me three good reasons why I can't go to Brian's," Aria challenged, crossing her arms. She looked like Max when she did that, except that she had Fang's dark black hair. Fang turned away from the pantry, where he was trying desperately to find something to eat. He stared down at his daughter. She obviously thought he couldn't come up with three reasons why she couldn't go to her boyfriend's house? He had about _ten _in his head already.

"I don't like him, I don't trust him, and I definitely don't trust _you_," Fang listed.

Sad but true.

"_Good _reasons, Dad!" Aria argued.

"Those are good enough for me," he said.

Max walked in the front door into the kitchen, looking distracted. She smiled when she saw them, though. Fang kissed her cheek.

Max's smile did not last for long. As soon as she saw the look of anger on Aria's face, Max frowned.

"What now?" she asked warily.

"Dad's being…_stupid_!" Aria said. "He doesn't let me do anything! I'm not a baby anymore! I'm fifteen!"

"Still young enough for us to ruin your life, if I remember correctly," Max chimed as she grabbed a bottle of water from the door of the fridge. Fang smirked.

Aria made a face. "Dad won't let me go to Brian's. Just because you two must consent to things I do, does not mean he has to be a _jerk _for no reason."

"He has a reason," Max said. "He doesn't like Brian."

Aria glared at both of her parents. "Brian didn't even do anything to him!"

Max glanced at Fang, waiting for him to jump in and plead his case. But Fang stayed out of the conversation, not feeling the need to defend himself. As far as he was considered, he didn't need to plead anything. He was the Dad. What he says, goes.

"Your dad thinks that he is…a…bad influence," Max tried, looking at Fang for confirmation. _That sounded parent-y, right? _she thought to him.

You'd think after sixteen years of parenting, they'd be doing something right by now. Fang shrugged.

Aria threw her arms up in the air. "Oh, my God! You think I'm going over there for a booty call? Brian and I aren't having sex!"

Fang flinched. Aria stared at him. She continued heatedly, "Just because you're dating someone _doesn't _mean you are sleeping with them. Unlike you, knocking up Mom at eighteen before you were married - or graduated, I might add."

"Aria," Max warned. "That was-"

"-different, I _know_!" Aria cried, looking exasperated. She pressed her hands to her cheeks, taking a deep breath. "You and Dad were _different_. Whatever. I'm not stupid, Mom. I won't ruin my life by having-"

Suddenly, Aria's older brother Tyler was standing behind her, unaware of the tension going on. He reached over and put her in a headlock, scratching his fist against her hair, messing it up successfully. Aria screeched, shoving her brother and pouring her super strength into the hit, which sent him careening into the wall.

"-some _idiot _like Tyler!"

"Don't use your powers on your brother, you're going to break something," Max said distractedly as she handed Fang exactly what he'd been looking for - a grocery bag full of junk food. _Thank God_, he thought to her. She smirked. Aria glared at her mom, her hands curling into fists.

"I'm good," Tyler said and looked around the kitchen, confused. Fang shook his head, silently relaying to Tyler that he probably didn't want to be in there to witness that one. Fang didn't even want to witness it. Tyler got the message and was suddenly no where to be seen.

Aria sighed exasperatedly and stomped towards the stairs. When she was gone, Max looked at Fang, thinking, _We can't be the cool parents _all _the time._

"She's worse than you," Fang declared, pulling Max closer to him.

Max smiled lightly. "She sure knows how to pick a fight."

"Where's Cass?"

"I dropped her off at Alyssa's house for the night on the way home from the store," Max mumbled, wiggling her way out of her husband's arms. "Alex had a party to go to, but it's at a bowling alley for some kid in his kindergarten class. We pick him up at about six."

"They all want to leave us," Fang sighed. "Even the five year old."

"Not me," Tyler said, appearing once again back in the kitchen. He ducked his head to look in the fridge. "I don't know about you, but after that _frightening _display of estrogen I need something spicy and the game."

Fang caught the two root beers his son threw at him and smirked.

Max walked over to the counter and picked up a small paper bag that Fang hadn't noticed until now. She walked upstairs without another word, heading into their bedroom.

A few minutes into the baseball game, Fang heard Max in his head again. That kind of stuff came in handy a lot these days.

_Fang_.

He couldn't tell what was wrong, but something…something was off. Fang, feeling lazy, transported from his spot on the couch to Max, and he found himself standing outside their bathroom door. He heard his son call him a show-off from downstairs. He grinned.

"Is this a _joke_?" It was Max, from inside the bathroom. He knocked, but he already knew she was in there.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice low.

"It's open," Max deadpanned.

He pushed into the bathroom to see his wife standing in front of the sink, holding up a stick.

He moved closer. Yep. There was that positive sign he'd seen countless times in the past.

He looked at her face, which was surprisingly blank. Then back at the stick.

"Take another one," he said.

Max tossed the pregnancy test into the sink - where five other sticks lay, abandoned. He didn't even have to look to know what they'd say.

"There's such a thing as false positive, right?" she asked nervously, wringing her hands.

Fang looked at her. "I don't know, we've only ever had the real kind."

Max shook her head. He could practically hear her heartbeat accelerating. Fang stepped forward. He pulled her against him and kissed her forehead.

"Hey." His voice was a kind of gentle Max hadn't heard in a while. He used that voice only when he was nervous, usually about her. He looked at her like she was as fragile as glass, and one wrong move and she'd break. "It's okay."

So she let him in.

_What are we going to do? We're thirty-four…Almost forty…The kids…and how are we supposed to…We can't…be pregnant. Not now. The money? The space?_

_The sanity? _Fang butted in, completely serious.

_I'm happy, but at the same time…_

_Scared shitless, _Fang finished for her. Just because they already had four didn't mean a fifth kid wasn't a _huge _deal. It was. Max knew that and he knew that. She nodded and leaned into him.

All of Max's thoughts suddenly flooded Fang's head, and he kissed her head again, holding her.

"Okay," Fang said quietly. "It's not what we planned, but we'll be fine. We always are."

"Are you kidding? We planned _Cassidy_. The other three? Not so much," Max mumbled, her fingers wrapping as far around his biceps as they could. "But five kids? _Five _kids?"

Five kids.

Max was right. They hadn't planned Tyler or Aria, but they had turned out okay. Well, Aria was…difficult on good days. But Max and Fang had certainly survived it, and the kids weren't too messed up…And Alex had been nothing but a blessing to them.

Fang watched her. "Hey," he said, brushing her hair behind her ear. "You act like it's a bad thing."

She tilted her head. "No, it's just…a…shocking thing." She pushed her hands down his arms until her fingers entwined with his. She leaned against him. He kissed her gently.

He knew what she was going over in her mind. Their previous pregnancies. Everything. Being pregnant made Max antsy, nervous. She always suspected that the worst would happen. Fang stroked her hair back from her face, holding her.

They stood in silence for a while. He was still holding her, and he could feel her heart beating against his chest. Fang rested his chin on her head and rubbed her back.

"Five kids," Max whispered into his neck.

Fang smiled into her hair.

She pulled away. He could've sworn that Max had been seconds away from a mental breakdown just a minute ago, but that was one thing he loved about her. Thirty-four years by her side, and she was still as unpredictable as ever.

"Mom wanted me to come over before…" she trailed off. "I'm going to see her."

"Want me to come?" Fang offered. "Tyler can pick up Alex."

Max shook her head. "I won't be gone that long. Just want to talk to her. Haven't seen her in weeks, anyways. I can get Alex on the way home."

Fang kissed her, and when he went to pull away she held him there for a few more seconds.

"I'll call when I get there," Max told him.

Fang didn't hold onto those words for too long, since she always promised to call when she arrived somewhere. Whether she did or not, that was a different story.

But when it was almost seven and she wasn't home, Fang got a phone call.

"Hello?" he answered. Tyler had already retreated to his room a few hours after the game was over, and he hadn't seen Aria since their argument in the kitchen.

"Mr. Ride?" It was a voice he recognized, but couldn't put a name to. Fang had been expecting Max.

"Yes." He stood up and paced into the kitchen. Something didn't feel right.

Max forgot to call all the time, but she'd been gone for hours. If she had found out if she was truly pregnant or not, she would've called. He was sure of it. It wasn't something you'd just forget to mention.

"This is Mrs. West, Jordan's mother?" The name still wasn't ringing a bell. "My son's party ended an hour ago, and Alex was never picked up."

"Oh, shit," Fang cursed. "Sorry, Max was going to-"

"That's alright, we brought him back to our place so he wouldn't sit up at the bowling alley…I'll give you our address."

While Fang wrote down the name of her street, his mind was on overdrive. So Max had gotten caught up at her mom's. That happened a lot lately. It was ridiculous for Fang to overreact. There were times when Max stayed out later than usual and never called, even now, when they had kids. It wasn't like her to forget to pick up one of them, but she hadn't been thinking straight when she left. He would call her once he picked up Alex.

But as Fang put on his jacket, he got another call. This number was already in the phone. Aaron. He worked for the police station. Fang answered, wishing it was Max.

"Aaron, what's up, man?"

"Is Max home?"

Fang froze.

"Why?"

"I'm on duty. Just found her car in a ditch, just outside of town."

Fang's heart slammed to a stop. "Was she in an accident? Is she okay?"

Aaron paused. "Fang, she's not in it."

• • •

He had found her.

A month ago, by pure chance, he had found her. And now he had her.

"You were given direct orders not to hurt her!"

"She flew! We didn't expect-"

"Enough! Did you hit her?"

There was a moment of silence between the two.

"_Did you_?"

"I didn't expect her to fall so fast…she was flying and I just needed to slow her down…"

The boss looked murderously at his seemingly incompetent employee. "You _shot _her?"

"I didn't kill her-"

"So, I can shoot you, and it's okay? As long as you don't die?"

"Sir-"

The two of them were interrupted by the sound of Max stirring. She was panting and groaning, probably be cause of the immense pain in her wing, where she'd been shot. The man had come into his boss's office and just let her collapse on the floor, and now she was slowly moving into the sitting position, looking around.

"Oh, God," the man's boss forgot being angry at him to run to Max's side. He helped her sit up slowly. "Are you alright?"

She looked at him, examining his face, her eyes full of confusion and agony. "Wha…Who are you?"

He dropped her in shock and she almost fell backwards again. "You don't…You don't remember me?"

Her eyes widened in fear. "Where am I? What's going on? Something…hurts…"

"Max!"

She wasn't listening to him, though. She tried to get to her feet. "I don't know you!"

"Max, it's me! Dylan!"

She stopped kicking just to look him straight in the eyes. "Who is Max?"

**A/N: I know it isn't what you all expected. But, this was my plan since the beginning and…I think it'll be okay. Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys! It's great to be uploading again!**

I've decided that after this whole ridiculous scenario is done and over with, I'm going to write a book. It's going to be called, _How to Kidnap a Girl For Dummies. _So, be lookin' for that on shelves at your local library.

Then again, I can't really write a book if I don't know my name…

But whatever. Whoever kidnapped me - if I was, in fact, kidnapped - did it all wrong. Like, where the hell were my shoes? And why was I in the middle of the forest? Not to mention the fact that I had no idea _who I was_. I mean, what the hell?

Whoever kidnapped me was obviously a fucking screw-up.

I had to have been kidnapped. It was the only explanation as to why I was such a mess.

Unless I was…like, a _fugitive _or something.

That would suck. Being a fugitive, but not even knowing what you did? Be running from the police but have no idea _why_?

Shit, shit, shit…

Ignoring the panic rising in my chest, I sat up, examining myself. I had a few bruises forming on my wrists, and the area around my ribs ached painfully. So they were violent, too? Ugh.

Something…something in my back didn't feel quite right.

Instinctively, I flexed my back muscles, rolling my shoulders. In my peripheral vision, I saw a flash of brown and white. An animal? A person?

I shot to my feet, ignoring the pain in my aching body, and whipped around. Only to see no one.

I was completely alone, standing in the middle of a forest. Then what…?

Slowly, I looked behind me. To my genuine surprise, I saw two humongous wings protruding from my back, apparently through slits in my jacket.

"Whoa," I muttered, reaching around to feel the feathers on one.

Okay, I may not have known my name or where I was or how I got there, but I was pretty sure people didn't usually have wings.

I surveyed the area around me. What was I doing here? Who was _I_, anyways? I glanced down at my feet. Okay, whoever kidnapped me could've at least let me keep my shoes. I mean, come on. This was ridiculous.

One foot had a grey sock on it. It was covered in dirt. But the other foot was bare.

The next thing I saw after noting appearance was the small wallet lying next to my naked foot in the dirt. I bent down and picked it up.

What kind of kidnapper leaves a wallet? Especially one with cash? Upon opening the worn leather flaps, I discovered that whoever had done this to me hadn't been after my money. I had, like, forty bucks in there. No I.D., though. Because that would have been too easy.

There was only a small picture, stuck into the crevasse of the leather. I pulled it out. A woman with long brownish hair stood next to a man with dark black hair. He was easily two heads taller than her, and he was dressed in all black. Her arm was around his waist, his slung around her shoulders. They were both smiling. And in the back of the picture behind them, you could see wings protruding from both of them. The man's wings were solid black, but the woman's wings looked like mine.

Was the woman me? I flipped the picture around, but was unsurprised when there was no name on the back. Why would I have labeled my own picture, of myself? As I shoved the picture back into the wallet, I noticed the two rings on my finger. One with a simple diamond, one with no stones at all. Both on my left ring finger.

I was married?

I was _sunk_.

How was I supposed to figure this out? What was I doing out here in the woods, anyways? And why was I in so much pain?

I shook my head. Asking myself the same questions wasn't going to solve anything.

I needed to find someone.

I stumbled through the forest for a while before I could spot what appeared to be a house through the trees.

Maybe this was my home?

Excited, I sped up, wanting to get to the house as soon as possible. And then I stepped on a thorny branch. Of course with my unsocked foot, too.

"Damn it," I hissed, grabbing my foot. I limped toward the house, being more careful of where I stepped. Damn branch.

The house was small, nestled in the middle of the woods. It sat on the lake, with a small dock in the backyard that I could see from my spot in the grass in the front. Just as I was about to go up to the door and knock, a woman opened the front door. She was balancing a Spiderman backpack - I can remember Spiderman, but not my own fucking name? Guh… - and a small, wiggling toddler. She reached back to close the door and as she did, she spotted me.

"Oh, my God. Max?"

I figured she was calling to her husband or maybe talking to the kid, except for the fact that she was staring right at me. Why did that name sound familiar?

But then, looking extremely worried, she leaned into the doorway and shouted, "Aaron!"

"What?"

A man, dressed in a police officer uniform, walked out the front door. His eyes landed on me, and in seconds he was in front of me, grabbing my shoulders.

My first thought was, _Crap! The police caught me!_

My second thought was, _I'm not even sure I'm a fugitive!_

"God, Max! Where have you been?" he inquired staring at me. "Do you know how worried we've…"

I was Max? Max was me?

Color me confused _af_.

"Hi…Do we know each other?" I asked.

He stared at me, noticing the unrecognizable gaze in my eyes. He glanced back at the woman, then at me. "Well, I think 17 years should count for something…Max, are you alright?"

"Who are you?" I asked.

"It's me," he said, looking hurt. "Aaron."

"Hi, _Aaron_," I said slowly.

"Max, you don't…remember me?"

I scrutinized him, waiting for my brain to say, _Hold up, I got this. _It didn't.

"Soph, call-"

"On it."

• • •

The officer, what did he say his name was again? Oh, yeah, Aaron. Officer Aaron (he hadn't mentioned his last name; he hadn't said anything since we'd left in his cop car) drove me down an isolated back road in silence for about thirty minutes. Why was he taking me way out here, in the middle of nowhere? I felt like asking, but at the same time, I didn't want to initiate the conversation. He had asked me a few questions as he'd led me to his car, but nothing since I'd buckled myself in. I glanced over at him to see him gripping the steering wheel tightly, looking distracted.

Finally, I saw what I guessed was our destination. A large house was nestled at the very end of a dead-end gravel road, surrounded by trees. I could see a car sitting in the drive, next to it a black truck. It was big, the house, and it looked pretty. It was painted white and had dark brown shutters on the windows.

"Where are we?" I finally asked. My voice sounded small, and I cleared my throat. Aaron just looked at me. He looked totally freaked out.

"Come on, Max," he said. I could tell he didn't know how to deal with this situation.

Well, me either. In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of new at this whole girl-with-an-identity thing. Just a bit ago, I'd learned my name. I had been having a really exciting day.

He walked me up to the door, and didn't knock before entering the house. Inside, I didn't see what I had expected. By the beautiful exterior of the house, I'd expected to walk in to see a designer home with all the latest furnishings and décor.

The first thing I heard was a young man talking down the hall. I didn't hear what he was saying, but he sounded pretty amused.

There was a pile of muddy, worn out shoes by the door right when we walked in. Under my feet there was a welcome mat that said _Leaving So Soon?_ Aaron led me down the hallway past pictures that I didn't have a chance to look at and into the kitchen, where the counters were cluttered with dishes and stacks of paper.

A boy was sitting at the counter, a textbook open in front of him. He wasn't doing any work, though. Instead, he was on the phone and slowly eating his way through a bowl of pistachios.

"Brittany, I was _not _flirting with Sadie today. You think I was, but I wasn't. Who do you believe? Me or her?"

When he noticed us, he jumped up, the phone falling out of his hand and clattering onto the counter.

"Mom!"

At that, a young girl ran into the room, first looking at the boy, then letting her dark eyes slide over to me. Her face brightened and she ran at me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Mom! You're home!"

I looked down at her, shocked. _Mom_?

"Uh, hello," I said softly.

The boy quickly hung up with whoever was on the phone and walked over to us, yanking the girl off me. "Cass, remember what Dad said?"

She frowned up at him, then looked back at me.

The boy looked like he was about to say something, but suddenly a tall man entered the room.

His eyes landed on me immediately, and when we made eye contact I recognized him as the man from my photograph.

Two black circles were donned under his eyes, to match his dark clothes and dark hair. He was tall and lean, but it was clear that he was in shape. He stood, tense in the doorway for a moment before smiling.

I could barely read his expression when he looked at me, but I could tell he was relieved. He made his way to me quickly.

"Max," he whispered.

I don't know what it was. At that moment, it all felt like too much. The man's eyes were full of emotions that I hadn't expected; deep, loving emotions. I didn't even know him. I subconsciously stepped closer to Aaron. I didn't know why; maybe just because I'd met him first. He was the first person I knew. And the man in front of me…He was mysterious.

He noticed my look of uneasiness and, instead of hugging me like he wanted to, resorted to grabbing my hand. I looked down silently as his large, calloused hand enveloped mine. He looked at Aaron.

"Where did you-"

"My front yard," Aaron answered incredulously. "I know, Fang. I know. But…it's true."

The man, Fang, shooed the two kids out of the room, and the boy pulled the girl upstairs. He then gently led me to the counter where he motioned for me to sit on the stool.

"Anything? Do you remember…anything?" he asked, looking desperate.

"I remember waking up in the woods this morning," I said. "Does that count?"

His tense face pulled into a small smile, examining me. He stared at me for a second longer, then started to check the rest of me.

"She's…fine," Fang said in shock. "A few bruises, a few cuts…What _happened _to you, Max?"

"I think we've been over this," I mumbled as his hands felt my stomach. "And I seriously don't think it's appropriate for you to be feeling me up right now. We just met."

Fang sighed, lowering his hands. He looked at Aaron, who nodded.

"I'll come back tomorrow, check in?" It was a question, not a statement.

"How about Friday?" Fang said instead.

Aaron nodded. "Alright, man. Call me if you need anything. We'll work on things from our end."

Aaron let himself out of the house. I watched him leave, feeling nervous that now, I was alone with just this man named Fang. I then looked back to Fang to see him already looking at me. His face was angular, sharp, and he looked guarded. But his eyes told me he was worried and relieved at the same time. I felt like reaching up to feel if his hair was truly as soft as it looked. I refrained.

"What day is it?" I asked.

He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. "It's Sunday," he said softly. "You've been gone for nine days."

I looked down and my feet.

"Do you…know what happened to me?" I asked quietly.

He pushed back my hair, staring intently at me. "No," he said. "I wish I did. Are you sure you don't remember…anything?"

I shook my head. "Are you my husband?" I asked.

I didn't expect for him to show his grief on his face. He tried not to show it, but it was there.

"Yes," he said. "I am. I'm Fang."

I'm married to a man name Fang.

My day just keeps getting better and better.

I started looking him up and down, examining him for creepy tattoos or piercings or any give-aways that he was a complete weirdo.

"That's a weird name," I said. "Then again, so is mine. Max. Isn't that a boy name?"

He chuckled at that. "Your name is Maximum Ride."

"Is that a joke?" I asked. I couldn't tell if he was serious. He looked serious. Then again, was he even capable of looking anything else?

"I'm serious," Fang said, smirking. "But everyone just calls you Max. We chose our own names."

"What about my mom and dad? What about _your _mom and dad?"

"Our parents didn't raise us," Fang said slowly. "It's kind of a long story, and it explains the wings. It's…really not a story I can tell you in one day."

"So…where should we start?" I asked.

He looked at me with something in his eyes, something I couldn't identify. But it didn't make me uncomfortable. It made me feel safe, like he was going to protect me. Though I didn't know squat about him, I felt comfortable sitting next to him.

"Are you hungry?"

I hadn't noticed it until now, but my stomach was growling. I nodded and watched him walked around the island in the kitchen towards the fridge.

• • •

"Alex, how old are you?" Fang asked him across the table.

"I'm five!" Alex said proudly.

"I'm sixteen," Tyler said through a mouthful of ham and cheese sandwich, looking at his Mom. "The prodigy. The perfect child. Whatever you want to call me."

Aria, the fifteen year old, rolled her dark eyes. "_Kiss ass _is more accurate."

The youngest, Alex, giggled. "Ty's a kiss ass!"

Cassidy started laughing behind her glass of milk.

Fang's eyes widened. "No, Alex. Aria, quit cursing in front of him, you know he repeats everything."

Fang had treated them all to a hearty lunch of about four boxes of macaroni and 20+ sandwiches, which was basically a snack in their house.

Max was meeting her kids for the first time at the dining room table, where they told her a bit about themselves. Birthdays, interests, favorite colors, sports, etc.

"I have super strength," Aria said casually, "But Dad still thinks I can't handle taking care of myself."

Fang rolled his eyes.

"I can teleport. No biggie," Tyler said, brushing imaginary dirt off his shoulders. Max laughed.

"My power's stupid," Cassidy said.

"No it isn't, Cass," Fang said. "Tell her."

"Well…I can blend into backgrounds if I'm completely still. Like Dad."

"But, it's totally useless because she's never stood completely still in her life," Tyler said, nudging her. Cassidy stuck her tongue out at him.

"We're not sure what Alex does yet," Fang said. "But the kid's a blabbermouth."

Max gave him a smile.

Fang watched her as they ate. She was taking all of this so far surprisingly well, but who knew how she'd handle hearing about her past? The School, the torture, the split of Fang from the flock…Fang's kidnapping and her coma? Or what about all the powers they had developed? Their struggles as a couple…their struggles as parents? Or the baby that was currently growing inside her?

She had handled each and every one of those situations separately, and had gotten time to cope. But now, Fang had to bring them all up, reopen all the old wounds, and hope she didn't break under the harsh reality that was her life.

He knew that right now, he could rewrite their history. All their problems, all their heartaches…Maya, Dylan, _everything _could be erased.

But was that fair? Would she even still be Max then?

No. She wouldn't.

He was going to tell her everything, whether she asked or not.

And maybe it would be best to just start at the beginning.

**A/N: Okay? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm getting way more positive feedback than I thought! Thanks, guys. Also, I've started a new story…it's called **_**Tonight**_**. Go check it out! **

**And I am working on two new projects… So keep your eyes open for those!**

**This is a little short, but the next one is twice as long. (:**

**Read on!**

It was hard to just step into a stranger's life. On the outside, I was observant and calm.

On the inside, I was flipping the hell out.

I was expected to…live here? Just, live with my four kids and my husband and just trust everything they tell me? Become what they tell me I used to be?

God.

I couldn't do that.

I walked around the house, scanning things on the walls and in the rooms, wondering what their meanings were and why Fang and I had chosen to put them in our home. What I discovered was that every room was a sort of unorganized organization (read: our house was a fucking mess).

"Hey."

I turned around quickly, spotting the oldest girl - Aria. Her black hair was pulled up in a long ponytail. Her brown and black streaked wings were let casually out behind her.

"Hi," I said, smiling at her. She looked at me for a minute before moving closer.

"You and Dad aren't big on decorating - Aunt Angel says you two never cherished material things. Aunt Nudge did the house."

So much for trying to understand my life by analyzing the furnishings.

"Nudge? Angel?"

She stared at me for a second, then pulled me down the hall. There were pictures hanging on practically every stretch of wall. Aria and I came to stop before one of the biggest portraits.

"This picture was taken at your wedding," Aria said. "Fun fact: you were already two months pregnant with me. I'm not supposed to know that, but Uncle Holden's not good at secrets." Then, under her breath, "Dad's such a freaking hypocrite."

"Aria, what are you doing?"

We both turned to see Fang standing right behind us. Jesus, I hadn't even heard him.

"Sorry," Aria spat. "Didn't know I wasn't allowed to talk to my own mother."

She didn't wait for Fang's retort. She simply pushed past us both and slipped into a room at the end of the hall.

He looked at me.

"I swear, she's an exact copy of you," Fang sighed. He looked at the picture that Aria had been showing me and pointed to us in the middle.

He pointed out each person and told me who they were. We talked about it for at least an hour, just standing in the hallway, looking at one family photograph.

Fang and I were in the middle. To my right in the photo, Nudge, Ella, Emma and Angel are lined up in matching dresses. To Fang's left there's Iggy, Aaron, Holden and Gazzy. Then Fang explained how we knew them.

My father - Jeb Batchelder - worked with Fang's father - Adam Harrison - at a lab called Itex or, the School. There, they came up with a plan to create me, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel. They wanted us to save the world. (Fang actually said they wanted me to save the world, but the flock was created to help me so it was their job, too).

We were created with 2% avian DNA - explains the wings. There were also a lot of other things about our anatomy and stuff that were different, but I don't really feel like explaining all that. Long story short, we're part bird. Cool, huh?

Apparently, not as cool as I thought, since our DNA and our purpose made every scientist in the freaking world want to kill us or experiment on us. How flattering. Fang said that Jeb helped us all escape when Fang, Iggy and I were ten. We escaped to a house in Colorado, the state where we lived today.

Then he explained how Jeb disappeared and we thought he had died, then how Angel was kidnapped. After all of that we found out about my mission and went on the run for a year again.

As Fang explained all of that - my background, our lives as kids - I sat back and listened. It felt as if I were hearing someone else's story, learning about someone else's life. It was hard for me to just…accept this all as my life, you know?

He summed up a lot of our "missions" and everything, ending with the fact that he and I started getting serious after saving my mom's life.

Then he stopped.

I looked up at him, his eyes focused on the portrait from our wedding.

I wasn't sure what to say. Because obviously, the picture meant a lot to him. Obviously, it held meaning, emotion.

And I was just looking at another pretty picture.

"When is my birthday?"

I guess I wanted to talk about something factual; something with no emotions hidden in the answers. Fang cocked his head, looking at me as if he were reading my mind or something.

"We chose our own birthdays when we were kids. You picked September third. When we were older, we found our files and it turned out you were actually born in July. You wanted to keep the one you chose. We all did."

Why did I pick September third? Why was that date _important _to me? Suddenly, I felt as if every past choice I'd made was a piece to a puzzle, a clue to the mystery, and I had to put it all together. I had to pick myself apart and find out who I was.

What if I never did?

Fang was watching me as if he could hear every thought of mine.

"I called Jeb," Fang said. "He's bringing us security tapes from the School, back from when we were kids. If you don't want to watch them, I understand-"

"No, I want to."

Fang looked conflicted. "Max, the shit we went through-"

"You think I can't handle it?" I challenged, raising my eyebrows at him. "I survived it once, didn't I?"

Fang just smirked at me, sending tingles down my spine. Something about the look he was giving me…

"I'm really, like…tired," I said awkwardly. What was I doing? Why was I afraid of him?

Fang took my hand. As he was pulling me down the hall, another picture caught my eye.

"Wait, who's that?"

It was a photograph from our wedding again, but this time it was just Fang, me, and a baby boy in Fang's arms.

"That's Tyler," Fang said.

Kids before a wedding? "Isn't that a bit untraditional?"

Fang gave me a look. "We were never big on tradition."

• • •

"You can sleep in our room," Fang said. He had just dropped all the kids off at Max's mom's, figuring it would be best for he and Max to be able to talk without distractions tomorrow. When he got home Max had been taking a shower, and now they stood in the doorway of their room. The walls were a dark blue, the bed in the middle of the farthest wall. Max loved this room; it had big, floor to ceiling windows the she loved to keep open. Their bed was big and soft, with a black and grey comforter and, like, ten pillows.

Max walked forward, dressed in her flannel pajama pants and long t-shirt that was actually her husband's, and bent down, feeling the silk of the comforter. She sat down. She was actually sitting on his side, but he said nothing. Usually they were really particular about which side they were on.

Max reached over and grabbed the picture frame that was on Fang's side of the bed. It was of the entire flock, when they were younger.

"We look really happy," Max said.

"Yeah," Fang said, scratching his head. "You raised them all. You were the leader. You took care of us all, saved our butts too many times to count. You saved the world."

Max looked at him. "I feel like you're over-exaggerating a bit."

Fang shook his head. He moved across the room, pulled a box out of the closet. He opened the box and pulled out a newspaper. The front page read: _Maximum Ride, Girl Wonder, Saves the Human Race As We Know It. _There were about twenty others with various titles, all resembling the same thing.

She raised her eyebrows, grabbing the paper from his hands. Her still-wet hair hung down into her face. Her fingers ran over the words on the paper.

"Well, I was pretty cool, wasn't I?"

He smiled lightly. Fang took the paper from her and put it back in the box.

"You should get some sleep," Fang told her. She laid back on the bed, on top of the covers, and Fang moved to the door. He didn't mind taking the couch, although he really didn't want to let her out of his sight for a single minute.

"Don't you sleep in here, too?" she asked when he moved to leave. "Isn't that how it works?"

Fang turned, looking at her in surprise. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I guess it is."

Max patted the space next to her.

"You can even have one of my pillows," she offered. "I mean, seriously, how am I supposed to sleep with all of these?"

"You don't," Fang said automatically. "It's nice, but we mainly keep the decorative stuff on for Nudge." Fang motioned for her to get up. She stood and watched him pull the silky comforter completely off the bed and let it fall to the carpet. Underneath was a thick wool blanket.

"Well, anyways," Max said. "Come on. Bedtime."

• • •

_Max is on a cliff. How convenient! She'd just been wanting to try out her wings. She casually unfurls them, feeling them stretch out behind her, feeling how they complete her. Having them spread out behind her makes her feel whole. This is who she is. Max, the bird girl. She peeks down the steep cliff._

"_Wait."_

_Max gasps, quickly stepping back. In the process, she bumps into her husband. She feels his chest collide with her back and spins around. Suddenly, she becomes afraid of falling and clutches his biceps. _

_Why does this feel so real? Why can she feel the muscles in his arm, and his warmth, and his breath on her cheek? _

_She doesn't understand. She fell asleep, right? She knows he did. He fell asleep right beside her, she heard his breathing slow down. _

_But now here they are, standing face to face._

"_What…the…hell," Max breathes. _

_Fang looks distracted, but pauses to explain. "We share dreams," Fang says. "Our minds have a special connection." _

_Max nods, kind of in a daze. Jeez, is there anything she doesn't share with this man? _

"_I want to try something," Max says softly, turning around again. Her eyes scan the empty space before her with longing. She is aching to fly, to experience that feeling of flying with no restraints. _

"_No, Max," Fang says. "Wait." _

_Max still stares out over the canyon. "What?" she asks distractedly._

_Fang's hand reaches out to her wing and his fingers run over a small bump on her right wing. _

"_What is this from? Did you hurt your wing?" _

"_What?" Max tries to look, but it's not use. "What is it?" _

_Fang leans closer to her wing. "Does it hurt?" _

_Max shakes her head no._

"_God, Max," Fang whispers. "You were shot here."_

_Max feels her heart seize. She's suddenly freezing. She had been shot? As in, with a gun? Someone wants her dead?_

"_What _happened _to you?" _

_Neither of them, can answer that question. Not Max and not Fang. _

_So they stand together in silence. _


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Don't worry. It gets better soon. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys! Amazing!**

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Fang and I sat in his office after we ate breakfast the next morning. He told me that he does most of his working there when he doesn't go in to work. Apparently, I'm married to a journalist for the local paper. He told me that it was no big deal, but I looked it up when he was making breakfast ("Max, you can't cook worth a shit, now get out of the kitchen"), and it turned out it's the biggest newspaper in our area and he's, like, the CEO. Or something. I'm not really sure how works, and I didn't understand everything I read, but he's pretty high up there.

Fang said I was a PE teacher. Evidently I tried other jobs after high school, he even listed a few of them. He said that I used to be Aaron's partner at the police department. But, apparently, I got shot or something, in the stomach, and Fang got pissed and told me that I didn't need to put myself in harms way just to feel like I was still Maximum Ride. Especially since we had kids.

So I became a physical education teacher. I was pretty successful in my job, apparently. Besides that I was also the wrestling coach. Which surprised me, because I didn't think a woman teacher would be a wrestling coach. But Fang said that I was the best coach the school had ever seen and we went to state two weeks ago.

"You're very hands on," Fang said. "You like to show them how to beat the crap out of each other. Even though it's not really boxing, just wrestling." He laughed at that.

"In the spring, you coach track," Fang continued. "I mean, it's the very last job anyone ever thought you'd have - dealing with teenagers all day. You hated teenagers even when you were one. But…you like it."

I sat back. Fang and I were sitting, face to face, in two brown arm chairs. We were so close that our knees were touching. It felt a lot more intimate than it was.

There was a knock at the door, and Fang got up to answer it. He motioned me to follow.

At the door there was a man. His hair was graying, his eyes were tired. He held a box that was the size of a shoebox in his arms.

"Hello, Fang," the man said, smiling. I looked up at my husband to see him staring, unsmiling, down at the man before us.

"May I come in?" he asked.

Fang stepped aside, pulling me with him by my elbow. The man stepped into the house and walked into the living room, setting the box down on the coffee table.

"Well, they're all here," he said. He rubbed his hands together, then let them fall to his sides. He turned to look at us, then smiled gently.

"Hello," he said. "I'm Jeb. Your father."

I said nothing. Fang and I had talked about him, too. About how I didn't like him much, didn't trust him. At first I hadn't understood how I could love my mother and hate my father, especially since, _hello_, it took both of them to make me and put me in the School. But Fang said that Jeb was involved in a lot of our problems as kids, even though my mom was just donating to science. And he helped hunt us. Even though he had claimed it was to help me, I still had never felt comfortable around him.

"What did you bring us?" I asked.

Jeb wrung his hands, looking at Fang. "Well, I…"

"Before we destroyed the School," Fang said gently, his hand on my shoulder. "Jeb collected the security tapes from our years of being there. I figured it would be better than me just…summing up our childhood. Plus, seeing it might conjure up something, help you find your memory."

I nodded. My curiosity about my life and who I was outweighed my fear of finding out. "The School…it's gone, right?"

Fang nodded. "Yeah, Max. Completely gone."

"I want to watch them," I said determinedly. "I want to see it."

"Max, Fang," Jeb said, addressing us both with a worried look. "This is not something to be taken lightly. Even things that you, Fang, may have forgotten…they are all in there, recorded. Not censored. You understand that?"

"We've handled it before," Fang said. "We can handle it now. Thank you."

The thank you wasn't kind at all, and Jeb and I both knew it was a dismissal. Jeb nodded.

"Well, I'd better get going," Jeb said finally. "The videos are numbered, and they begin when you and Iggy are about four."

Without any word from any of us, Jeb left.

"What do you want to do?" Fang asked me.

I walked towards the box, opened it, and dug around in the unorganized pile for number one.

"I want to _remember_," I said, holding the tape up above my head. "So let's start."

Fang stepped over to me. "Are you sure you want to do this now?"

"No," I said sarcastically, looking up at him. "I want to sit around, not knowing my kids' middle names and not remembering my wedding or anything else about my life. I'll just live on what you tell me. Sound good to you?"

"A yes would suffice," Fang mumbled. He grabbed the tape and shoved it into the television, grabbing the remote. After a few minutes, we were sitting closely on the couch, watching…three dormant cages. In silence.

"They kept us in cages?" I whispered. For some reason I just…was shocked to see that. I could see two small forms crouched in two of the cages, and by the looks of it, whoever they were, was sleeping.

But not for long. About ten minutes into the video, there was a sound of a door open, then a loud screech. Enter Max, four years old. She was thrown onto the ground like garbage, and her body - my body - writhed in pain.

This was the stuff of science-fiction. This was what nightmares were made of.

And the look on the small girl's dirty face…that was an emotion that should never exist.

Instinctively, I gripped Fang's hand. He squeezed back, reminding me that I was there, on the couch next to my husband. Not lying on the ground in that hellish place, screaming and crying. Which was reassuring.

Because it felt like I was there, screaming and crying on the ground in that hellish place.

"Max!" The two sleeping forms had jumped up and were now both staring out of the bars of their cages, watching the girl experience this torture. The one who yelled had black hair, and I immediately knew it was Fang.

"The other one," Fang mumbled, "that's Iggy. Nudge was too young, at the time, to be placed in our room. This is before they turned Iggy blind."

"He's blind?" I asked, eyeing the small boy on the screen. He was so attentive, watching the young Max fall apart. His eyes shone with fear and anger.

"When he's six, they take him and try to enhance his vision," Fang told me.

"Six," I repeated. "He doesn't _ever _see outside…that place?"

Fang didn't answer me, he just held my hand tightly.

"What is wrong with you?" a voice off screen yelled. "She is a _billion dollar _project! You don't throw her around like a sack of potatoes!"

A man entered and I saw that it was Jeb, my father.

I noticed for the first time that young Max had broken bones, and that was why she was screaming so intensely.

Jeb picked her up and carefully carried her out of the room, but Max didn't want to go with him.

"_Fang_!" she screamed, thrashing in Jeb's arms.

"What are you watching?" a voice behind us asked, alarmed. Fang and I jumped, turning around to face the oldest boy, Tyler.

_My _oldest boy.

"Tyler, what are you doing home?" Fang asked suddenly. He turned the TV off.

"Was that _you_?" Tyler asked, pointing to the screen that was now blank. "What was that?"

"What are you doing here?" Fang repeated.

"School ended an hour ago," Tyler said, pushing his hand through his hair. "Are you expecting us to stay at Grandma's forever? Aunt Nudge is pissed at you, by the way. The whole flock's at Grandma's for dinner."

"Language," I said, but I'm not sure why. I felt out of place suddenly, like I was correcting someone I didn't have the authority over.

Tyler grinned, though, looking so much like Fang that I did a double take. "Fix her already?"

"She's not broken," Fang said. "And yeah, I expect you to stay at your grandma's again. At least tonight. Tell Nudge to shove it."

"No," I said. I looked at Fang. "I want to see them. I don't…want to watch these anymore. Not right now."

Fang stared at me. _I really don't think that's the best idea._

I jumped. "What the _hell _was that?" I asked, touching my head as if I could feel Fang's presence like a running river under the skin of my temple.

Tyler smirked, looking between us. "You and Dad have, like, this telekinesis thing going on."

"Telekinesis is the power to move things with your mind," Fang said patiently, but Tyler made a face at him. "We're _telepathic_."

"Well, _okay_, so now that we've cleared that up…" Tyler clapped his hands together, looking at us expectantly.

"Maybe meeting them will help with my memory," I tried. Fang looked at me for a second.

"Okay," he sighed.

This first person I saw when we arrived at the small house was an older woman. Her hair was dark brown with visible grey spots and eyes were tired. She was holding Alex on her hip.

When I stepped out of the car, Tyler on one side and Fang on the other, he wiggled out of her arms, jumping from her embrace and landing skillfully on his feet.

"Momma!" he ran at me and I squatted down, letting him into my arms. It felt instinctual. His skinny arms wrapped around my neck possessively, and I slowly returned the gesture.

I stood up, still holding him, and saw a long line of unfamiliar faces filing out of the house to look at me. Cassidy and Aria were among them. The rest were faces that Fang had pointed out to be my family. Or, my _flock_.

Looks like we were big on puns as kids.

I easily spotted Iggy. He was a tall man with strawberry blond hair that was cut short. His eyes were the lightest blue I'd ever seen, almost white. Breathtakingly blue. He stood, his shoulders slumped casually as he listened intently. He had his hand on a girl's shoulder. She had hair like him, only a bit deeper red. She looked at me nervously.

Next to them was a smaller woman, younger, who had long blonde curls. Her eyes were a darker blue, sparkling with light and happiness. She was in a simple top and shorts, her white angel wings spread out wide behind her.

A man who looked like he could be her twin exited the house after her. I knew from what Fang had told me that he was the Gasman, and he was two years older than Angel. I also knew that he was dating Fang's sister, Emma, who held Gazzy's hand as she stepped over the threshold of the house and onto the porch.

"Hello," I said, looking at them.

"I'm sorry, guys," Fang said. "She doesn't remember yet."

_Yet_. That word put more pressure on me than I had expected it would. What if I never remembered everything? Would I spend the rest of my live learning about things that I'd done in the past?

One of the women stepped forward. Her skin was tan, almost a coffee color, and her brown hair was in tight, curly tendrils down her back. Nudge. She first pulled me into a hug, child and all, then she pulled away from me.

She turned to look at Fang, and said, "Inside. Now."

• • •

My mother, Valencia Martinez, made Nudge and Fang push off their "important conversation" until after dinner. We ate together, around a huge table in my mom's dining room. Fang explained that Holden lived a few states over, but he came around every couple of months.

Conversation went on as if nothing was different. There were at least three different topics being discussed, not to mention constant outbursts of laughter and yelling. Everyone was obviously really close. I wondered how often we all ate together like this.

_Not often enough_, Fang answered in my head. I shot him a smile.

Nudge introduced me to Iggy's thirteen year old daughter, Olivia. She smiled up at me, seeming completely comfortably as she handed her father his fork and tapped the table by his plate. He began eating immediately.

A few hours later, I sat in the living room of my mother's house, alone. Angel and the Gasman had taken the kids flying. They'd obviously wanted to stay back and question me into a coma, but Fang had refused to let them ambush me like that, especially since he'd been forced to drag me out here in the first place. Iggy, the blind one, was on the phone with Ella in the kitchen. Ella was apparently at home with their baby boy, who had the flu.

My mother was also in the kitchen, making something that smelled delicious on the stove.

"You have absolutely no right," I heard Nudge, the coffee skinned girl from before, down the hall. Something else about being part bird that comes in handy, (besides the wings, obvi), was the fact that I had super sight and super hearing. So I could hear Fang and Nudge's not-so-private conversation down the hallway. "_No right _to keep her from us. From your own damn kids. You can't just shove us all out while you try to fix this, Fang! She's a part of our lives, too. She's not just yours, okay?"

"You don't understand," Fang hissed. "She's my wife, and she doesn't even know who I am. She's my best friend, and she doesn't remember anything, at all. How the fuck do you expect me to handle this?"

"Like you handle everything! _Rationally_. The best thing for Max is for her to be in an atmosphere as normal as possible. It may help with the memory loss. _Not _locking us all out while you try to get her to love you again."

"That's not what I'm trying to do," Fang said finally. "I just want her to remember. I want her to be able to remember _everything_."

"Yeah," Nudge responded. "I want her to remember ripping her dress three minutes before walking down the aisle and me stitching it up with bobby pins. I want her to remember throwing water balloons at me when Josh and I kissed for the first time. I want her to remember punching Iggy into the face when he said she couldn't coach wrestling."

I was a really, really violent person, I was learning.

"Nudge, she has got to come out of it," Fang said.

"I know," Nudge responded finally. "But this is not the way to do it. We need to make it as normal as possible."

Their conversation ceased, and I tried to look like I wasn't frantically trying to absorb as much information as I could. They walked through the living room and Fang looked at me.

"We're going to bring back the others," Fang explained. "We'll be back soon."

As the two of them left, Iggy hung up with Ella and walked into the living room. He walked towards me and with no warning, plopped down right on top of me.

I squealed, pushing him.

"Oh, sorry," he said seriously, scooting over.

"No, that was my fault, I should've told you I was sitting here," I apologized.

He looked in my direction, which was both extremely impressive and equally terrifying. "I'm just playing. Being blind since I was six, I think I can tell when someone is sitting on the couch. But hey, you took the blame for something, which I can assure you is a first."

I was silent. What is a person supposed to say to that?

"I didn't mean to freak you out or anything," he said, becoming serious. "I'm Iggy. We're best friends, but occasionally you beat me up."

"I'm sure you deserve it," I responded. He smirked.

"Yeah, usually I do."

I looked around the room.

"So, tell me about me," I said. "What am I like?"

"Bossy," Iggy said. "Sarcastic. Annoying. Oh, you mean _good _things about you…hmmm…give me a second."

I hit him in the shoulder, a bit harder than I meant to. He grinned, rubbing the spot my fist had hit.

"Okay, okay," he said in surrender. "You were the mother figure for a long time, then a sister. You took care of us all, kept us in line…well except for Fang, 'cause he does what he wants, you know? Can't keep 'im down…except you do your best."

I smiled. "Tell me about me and him," I said. "What are _we _like?"

"I mean, ever since I can remember, you two were inseparable. There was a time, obviously, when you two weren't all over each other…but even then I was kind of like 'the third wheel'. You guys just…clicked. It's like, you two understood each other better than anything else. Even after you broke up and Fang ditched, you guys were still so connected-" he cut himself off suddenly.

Fang _ditched_ me?

"Um, how much…did he tell you?" he asked after a second, scratching his head nervously. I didn't answer, for I was still processing his words.

He lifted his hand to my face and felt my expression, which was, lets just say, surprised. "Oh, shit, okay, I did not just tell you that. Jeez, is there a way to make you forget again?"

"He left?" I asked. "Like, after we were married, or what?"

What all did I _really _know about Fang? How could I possibly trust him to tell me the whole truth? My life was in his hands! Anything he'd ever done to me in the past…he could erase it all. Anything. I felt so vulnerable all of the sudden.

"No, no, no," Iggy said quickly. "No, you guys broke up…God, like, twenty years ago? Totally ancient history…it's _not _even important…"

"Why?" I asked. "Why did he leave? What happened?"

Iggy groaned. "Please don't make me…"

"Tell me," I demanded, getting all up in his business. Iggy flinched. I think I was starting to like this whole being-Max thing. People did what I wanted.

"Fang left because Dylan made him," Iggy said shortly. As if that explained everything and I was totally understanding as to who Dylan was and why that would make sense. NOT.

I ran through the names once again, but didn't remember Fang telling me about a Dylan.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"He was…an addition to our flock, for a while. You guys kind of dated… sort of. Not really. Dylan tried. I guess. I'm not completely sure, you and I didn't talk about that kind of stuff, but the point is Dylan talked Fang into thinking he was putting us all in danger, that we were all gonna die if he stuck around, so he left. But, he came back like a month afterwards. He brought Maya and Holden, too."

"Who's Maya?"

Iggy smacked his forehead. "_What_? What is wrong with me? Am I Nudge? Have I no filter? _Fuck_." I watched him curse himself.

"Iggy." I jumped, looking up to see Fang standing with everyone else around him.

"Shit," Iggy cursed again, then covered his mouth, looking at the kids. "I don't know what just happened."

I looked at them all. Fang was glaring at Iggy.

"Were you planning on telling me about…all that?" I said. I had been ready to list it all, but our kids were standing right there…and judging by Tyler's face when he'd seen the video we were watching earlier, Fang and I hadn't told our kids much about our pasts.

"Yes," Fang said carefully. "I was. We were starting at the beginning, remember?"

Remember? That word…it just set me off.

"_No_," I cried suddenly, feeling stress bubbling up inside me. "I don't remember _anything_, okay! I can't! I just-"

In that exact moment, my stomach lurched and I realized something terrible: I had no idea where the bathroom was, and I was about to puke.

The first thing that came to mind was _outside_. Outside, outside, get outside, before you throw up on your family…

I ran outside past the all and doubled over the edge of the porch, barfing on the bushes outside the house.

Right then and there, I figured that everything in my life that could go wrong, had gone wrong. Fang was behind me in seconds, his fingers cool against my feverish neck as they swept my hair back. I heard him calmly tell the others to stay inside, which I appreciated. No one else needed to witness this. I didn't even want to be around for it. _Not pretty_.

Finally, I was done. Fang handed me a glass of water, which someone else must've gotten for me because he hadn't left my side, and I chugged it down, rinsing my mouth out and spitting. I looked at him when I was done, breathing heavily. Waiting for him to say something like, _Oh, yeah, and sometimes you get violently sick for no apparent reason. Welcome to The Real World: Maximum Ride. _

Instead he just looked at me and said, "Come on, come inside."

"Are you alright?" Nudge asked, putting her hand on my arm.

I nodded slowly, when in reality I had no clue. I could've been dying or something, for all I knew.

Mom looked at Fang, her eyes full of genuine worry. "Do you want to take her home to rest?"

Fang looked at me. "Yes," he said finally. "We can do this," he said, motioning to the group of us, presuming we all knew what he was talking about (was I the only one who was completely lost?), "a different day."

Mom nodded, and suddenly a lot of people were taking turns hugging me, and hugging each other.

My mother came up to me after the others had hugged me and wrapped her arms around me. "I love you, sweetheart."

And it killed me. A woman I didn't even know was holding me and telling me she loved me. How could I say it back to her? How could I possibly say it and _mean _it?

I wanted to cry. Without a word, I followed Fang and the kids out to the car.

"We all seem really close," I said softly to Fang. Tyler was sitting in the seat behind me, his eyes closed. I'm wasn't sure if he was asleep or not. I _knew _Alex was, because I could hear his snoring. Aria had her iPod tucked into her ears, loud enough for Fang and I to hear the thump of the bass. But maybe that was just because of our impeccable hearing. Cassidy was watching a movie on a small portable DVD player. I think the movie was about rats or something. Some weird cartoon.

"We've all been through a lot together," Fang said.

I looked over at him. "It sounds like you and I have been through a lot, too," I said.

"We have," Fang sighed, almost to himself. "More than you could ever imagine."

"What if I don't ever remember anything?" I asked reluctantly.

"Then we'll make new memories," Fang said, turning onto the long gravel road leading to the house.

I smiled gently at him. I could tell he was trying to keep calm and appear like he had it under control, but I could just see his worry eating away at him. He was just as freaked out as I was. We were both thinking about the chances of me never remembering.

Fang parked the car in the driveway and the kids piled out. I stood next to him outside as he unbuckled Alex from his booster seat and then hefted him up into his arms.

"Are you mad?" I asked softly. "Because I don't remember?"

Fang glanced at me as we walked into the house. "I can't be mad at you for something you didn't do."

"You don't know if I did it or not," I pointed out.

"I know you didn't," Fang insisted.

We left it at that. He and I both went upstairs, and as he went in to put Alex to sleep, I went to our room and got dressed for bed.

I pulled open the top drawer of the dresser and fingered through the folded clothing. Suddenly, my fingers clasped around something hard. I pushed shirts and socks aside and found myself staring down at a small black leather book.

A diary.

Fucking _jackpot_.

I opened it up to the front page.

_Journal,_

_I don't know why I'm writing in you. Honestly, I never thought I'd sink this low - talking to a bunch of blank pages. Whatever. Don't think this is going to become a regular occurrence. _

_Anyways. _

_Yesterday, Fang and I discovered that I was a glowing, expectant mother._

_He was pissed that I didn't want to tell my mom. He told me that 1) we needed her professional and personal advice, especially since we had no idea what a bird-kid pregnancy would be like, and 2) She was bound to find out sooner or later, and Fang wanted us to be the ones to tell her. _

_Somehow, I don't even know how, I convinced him to wait. At least until after graduation. I told him that if he wanted, he could stop on the stage, hold his diploma up in the air and scream to the entire graduating class and their families that I was having his baby. _

_He said he absolutely would not do that. Thank God. _

_He did agree to hold off. Reluctantly._

_So there I was the next day, standing in PE class, hoping the ball would fly at me so I could catch it and chuck it at Melissa Ramiro's head. _

_Melissa Ramiro was one of __those__ girls. She was the kind of girl who was incredibly popular and the center of attention, yet, you could never find anyone who actually liked her. _

_I didn't have anything personally against Melissa, except for the fact that she hung all over Iggy way too much. _

_Iggy is smart about it. Maybe because he loves Ella too much, maybe because he knows that I will kick his ass if he shows any interest. But he always ignores her, which only makes her more insistent in her…ways of influence. _

_Iggy is, in most ways, a brother to me. Other ways, almost a son. He is only months younger than me, but I am still protective of him. And the way Melissa seems to worship him and still act superior to him makes my skin crawl. _

_I don't even remember what Ramiro did to make me strive to nail her in the head with a baseball. All I know is one second I was standing in the field, watching as she tried to figure out how to hold the bat, and the next second I was booking it across the field and out the gates to the sidewalk, where I doubled over and lost my breakfast. _

_And I mentally cursed Fang with every vulgar word in my vocabulary._

_Glowing mother, my ass. _

_That second was kind of when it hit me, Journal. The thought: What the actual hell am I doing? _

_How can I be a mom? How can I ever be good enough to raise a child? How can I promise that my kid is going to be safe from all of __my__ enemies? _

_I don't know, Journal. I honestly don't know._

_I didn't speak to Fang all day, and when he wouldn't leave me alone when we got home I told him to fuck off. He asked me what was wrong and how he could fix it. I told him to go to the Coach and explain to her why I was throwing up during PE class. _

_He didn't have anything to say to that. _

I heard the door open behind me and I slammed the book closed, burying it frantically in clothes. My heart hammered in my chest. Why was it so important that I hide the journal from Fang? He probably knew about it, anyways!

Then I realized, he probably didn't. He'd called Jeb for the videos so that they could jog my memory. If he knew I'd been writing about my life in my very own journal, he probably would've told me.

Still, I didn't say anything about it. I pulled out a long t-shirt and shorts and made my way into the bathroom wordlessly as Fang opened the second drawer and started changing, too.

When I went back into the room, I saw Fang already sitting in bed. I slowly made my way over to him and sat down next to him under the blankets, sighing.

All I wanted to do was read more of that journal. I just wanted an insight into my life. Heck, maybe an entry would help conjure up a memory or something.

Fang was staring at me.

Instantly, my gut told me to tell him about the journal. But something inside me wanted to have _some _secret from him, so I stopped thinking about the journal immediately, knowing he could read my thoughts. I thought about all the things I didn't know instead of all the things I _did_. Then, after sending a soft _goodnight _his way, I fell asleep.

**A/N: Y'all know what to do! I'm updating today because I probably won't tomorrow since it's my birthday and I won't be home. How about as a present, you give me a LONG review? **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Nothing to say. Hmm. That's a first. **

**Oh, wait. **

**THANKS for the birthday wishes! It was spectacular. **

**Okay, read on.**

"Tyler, cut it out!"

"Jesus, Aria! Do ya have to yell?"

"Leave me alone!"

Booming footsteps running up the stairs.

The bedroom door flew open.

"Hey, Mom, Dad, guess what? Aria snuck out to meet _Brian _last night. Guess what they did?"

"DID NOT! HE'S LYING!"

"Tyler, leave your sister alone," Fang's calm, low voice said from across the room. Then he raised his voice to yell, "That goes for you, too, Aria!"

"So, uh, Dad," Tyler began smoothly. "Mind letting me use the car tonight?"

"Why?"

"I'm taking Brittany on a date."

"Fine."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

Cue angry storming up the stairs and into the bedroom.

"How come Tyler gets a life and I don't?" Aria demanded.

"Because I'm responsible," Tyler teased. Then, "Ow! Damn it, Aria, you almost broke my arm!"

"One more word and I'll break your leg, too!"

"Cut it out. Last warning."

A small body collided with mine, expelling any sleep still lingering.

"Mommy! Time to wake up."

"No, Alex," Fang said. He leant down and picked up the boy off the bed. Then he saw me blinking. "Sorry. I didn't want to wake you. It gets kind of hectic around here in the mornings."

I nodded slowly. Alex wriggled out of Fang's grip and threw himself at me. "Aria and Tyler are yelling really loudly," he said, poking me in the nose.

I smiled, swinging my legs out of bed. "Yeah, they are."

The two oldest kids looked at me guiltily and then exited our bedroom, mumbling to themselves angrily. Fang was buttoning up a black shirt. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud crash that resonated throughout the house. Aria's laughter quickly followed.

"Aria pushed me down the stairs!" Tyler yelled.

Fang just rolled his eyes.

"I have to go into work today," Fang said. "I'll take the kids to school."

"Shouldn't I be getting ready for work?" I asked.

"Dr. Jameson, the principle, said you can have this next week off due to the circumstances. Just stay home and relax."

God, the last thing I wanted to do was sit at home alone.

"Gazzy and Emma are coming over today, though," Fang added. Probably reading my mind. "They'll keep you company. I'll be home around noon."

I nodded. I crossed my arms and followed Fang and Alex downstairs. Cassidy was sitting in the living room, tying her shoes. I felt like I should do something helpful, so I walked into the kitchen and opened the pantry. I found a few dozen boxes of granola bars. I grabbed a box and held it out to Tyler, hoping he'd take a bar and not tell me he was allergic to nuts or something.

"One for the road?" I offered.

Tyler grinned down at me - he was taller than me, and I was almost six feet - and grabbed the entire box. "Thanks, Mom."

Aria breezed past me into the pantry and grabbed two more boxes, throwing one at Cassidy and sticking two bars in Alex's hand.

"Bye, Mom!" Aria called, walking out to the car where she and Tyler fought for shotgun. And when I say 'fought', I mean actually wrestled for it.

Cassidy hopped up off the couch, ran over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Bye, Mom."

I hugged her back.

Fang kneeled down in front of Alex.

"What does Mom always tell you?"

Alex raised his head proudly. "Wings in, mouth shut. I got it."

He gave me a thumbs up. Fang ushered the littlest boy out the door. Once all the kids were outside Fang turned to face me.

"His mouth has a mind of it's own. We're still working on the 'filter' thing with him," he breathed.

I walked with him to the door. Fang turned around once we got outside and leaned toward me. He cupped my cheek, and I froze. Did he not remember that he was practically a stranger to me? Did he not care? Was he going to kiss me, anyways? My heart was racing as I worried what I should do.

Fang sighed, his thumb brushing over my bottom lip intimately. His hand dropped to his side. "I'll see you later."

Then I was alone in a huge house.

I sat down on the couch, wondering what I was going to do to pass the time while I waited for Emma and Gazzy.

Then I remembered the journal upstairs. It could possibly answer a lot of my questions. It could also help jog my memory. My pulse quickened just thinking about it. I _needed _to remember. Something. Anything.

I went up to our bedroom and brought it out of the dresser. I opened it to the second entry.

_Journal,_

_Graduation. For most of the kids at our high school, it meant going to college, moving away from their parents, furthering their education._

_For me, it meant breaking the news to Mom that I was pregnant. _

_The past three months have been…interesting. A new experience for Fang and I, for sure. It's come pretty close to us losing the secret a few times, but we've kept it from everyone but Iggy and Aaron up until now. _

_My name was called by our principle. I think we were all surprised that I made it through senior year without being called to his office once. _

_Am I the only one shocked that I'm graduating high school?_

_There were times in my life that I never thought I'd reach sixteen. _

_And now, here I was. Eighteen and crossing the stage at graduation. Engaged. Pregnant. Famous. _

_Alive. _

_I will blame it on the hormones from the pregnancy, but I started tearing up. Especially when I looked up and saw Angel giving me a thumbs up from the audience. _

_We were all here. They would all have a chance to do this, too. I couldn't believe it. My eyes frantically found Fang in the crowd of cap and gowns and he grinned at me. He read my mind. _

_He was thinking the same thing. _

_There were about thirty students in line after me, and once the ceremony was over Aaron came over to me and picked me up, swinging me around. _

"_You made it, Ms. Ride! What do you plan to do next?" He asked. He held his hand under my nose, as if holding out a microphone. He wiggled his eyebrows at me. _

_I'd been running this moment through my mind a million times since we found out we were pregnant. Like, should I start out with a joke or take it seriously? Or, should we tell her at the ceremony or wait until we get home? Tons of scenarios rolled through my head and I tried to calm myself. _

_Fang came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my stomach. To anyone else it looked like a normal hug from behind. But to me, I could feel the tenderness in his touch; the way he was cradling my abdomen. I smiled, turning my head and kissing him._

_I thought to Fang, asking him how we were going to tell my mom. He just kissed my head and thought back, Just tell her, I guess. _

_Mom walked up to us and smiled at me. Fang let me go and she pulled me into a tight hug. "I love you, Max. I'm so proud of you." _

"_Thanks, Mom," I said softly. _

"_You're going to be a great mother, honey," she said, pulling away and holding me at arms-length._

_My eyes widened and I looked over at Fang. He looked just as surprised as I felt. _

"_You think I haven't been pregnant before?" she laughed, pulling me against her again. "I could tell. I could tell it all."_

_So, that was a huge sigh of relief. If not a complete shocker. _

_Mom was already talking about plans for the future: where I was going to deliver, whether Fang and I would move out or stay with the flock, if we'd get married before or after the baby…_

_But Fang and I knew we needed to do one more thing before we thought about any of that. _

_We had to tell the others. _

_Unfortunately, that was not an easy task. We'd planned to do it a week after graduation; the younger kids still had a few days of school left, anyways, and so we were going to wait for all of that to die down. _

_But the night after graduation, while we were all sitting around the dining room table, eating, I just snapped. _

_First, Gazzy and Emma were fighting. Which, I admit, wasn't unusual. They were totally into each other - they'd been attached at the hip ever since Em joined the flock - yet they seemed totally clueless. _

_Hmm. Sound familiar?_

_Anyways, Emma had gotten angry when the Gasman asked out this girl, Peyton. But she'd pretended to be okay with it just so she didn't cause a scene. _

_But when a boy name Christopher asked Emma out, Gazzy didn't handle it as well. _

"_I can't believe you said yes to him!" _

"_Why? Why does it matter to you?" _

"_Because!" _

"_You're with Peyton! Don't worry about who I date." _

_Etc, etc. _

_Then, Nudge was practically glaring daggers at Fang for intimidating her new beau. She was yelling something like, "He won't even touch me!" _

_And Fang just replied, "Good!" _

"_God! What did you say to him?"_

_Yup. Iggy was getting beyond irritated, due to the fact that all of this yelling was a million times louder in his ears than in mine, and Angel was sitting with her hands over her ears, trying to ignore all of the angry thoughts around her. _

_I picked up my glass of water, drained it in two seconds, and slammed it down so hard the table shook. Everyone stopped, looking at me. _

"_I'm pregnant." _

_Then I stormed upstairs and got ready for bed. _

_We can check "tell the others" off our to-do list. _

There was a firm, quick knock at the door, bringing me out of my reading. My heart started thumping rapidly, and I wasn't sure why. It just felt odd, for some reason.

I slowly tucked the journal away, deep into the back of the top drawer. Then I went downstairs, taking each step cautiously. Something told me it wasn't Gazzy or Emma at the door.

I took a deep breath and pulled it open.

"Max…"

A tall man with blonde hair pulled me into his arms, holding me tight against his chest.

"I was so worried," he whispered, stroking long, slender fingers through my hair.

I gently pushed him off me and looked up. His blue eyes swam with emotions. His perfect white teeth were spread into a wide smile.

Something about him was familiar, recognizable. I didn't tell him that, though. I said, "Who are you?"

He reached down and grabbed both my hands. His fingers entwined with mine. His hands were soft and gentle. The touch was so intimate that I wanted to pull away. I blushed.

"A friend, from a long time ago," he said slowly. "Remember me?"

I cocked my head to the side, staring up at him. I didn't remember him. But he was _familiar_. That was so odd to me, especially because Fang hadn't been familiar to me, and he was my husband. Why did I recognize _this _man?

"Look, I can't stay. But I wanted to know if you could meet me here on Friday," he said, handing me a slip of paper. On it was an address. "Best mocha cappuccinos in town. And trust me, you love mocha cappuccinos."

"You still haven't told me _who you are_," I demanded. "How can I agree to meet you if I don't even know your name?"

"I'm paying," he prompted, grinning beautifully. "Don't worry. You can trust me. Promise."

I stared at him. What was this guy playing at? Why couldn't he just give me a name?

"Max!"

I looked up. Finally! A face I recognized. Emma was stepping out of a sleek blue car, walking up the driveway. The man glanced down from me to Emma.

"Who's this?" Emma asked as she got closer. The man narrowed his eyes at her, looking her up and down. Something about her appearance seemed to totally change his mood.

"Uh…" I stammered, looking at the man to answer the question. Because I still had no idea. He, instead, ignored her.

"I'll see you soon, Max," he said, giving my hand a squeeze. The he walked down the drive and disappeared into the woods.

What. The. Fuck.

Emma shrugged off the mysterious man and wriggled her way into the house past me. I stared outside a while longer before shutting - and locking - the door.

"So, Gaz had to go into work. His boss is an asshole, and called him in totally out of the blue. Anyways, it's just you and me today!" Emma's smile was a lot like her brother's. Her eyes wrinkled a bit around the edges, like his. I just looked at her, my mind still racing. Why hadn't he told me who he was? Why did he want to meet with me?

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"That guy… he told me he was a friend of mine, but never said his name."

Emma pushed off her coat, leaving her sandals by the door. "Weird."

"You didn't recognize him?" I asked curiously.

Emma shrugged. "Not that it means much that I don't," she said with the wave of her hand. "You guys found me when I was ten. You and Fang and Ig were seventeen by then. A lot probably happened before I came along."

I sighed, leaning back against the couch. Emma joined me. She saw the box of tapes Jeb had brought over and asked, "What're those?"

"Security tapes," I said. "From the school."

Emma's eyes lit up with curiosity. Many things about her were like Fang, but there were a lot of differences, too. Emma was much more open with herself and her feelings.

"You're not like him," I said simply.

Emma smirked. "I don't know, you haven't seen my right hook yet."

I was startled into a smile. She wasn't being uneasy and nervous around me, like I'd expected. She was acting as if we were the best of friends. It was cool. Emma rifled through the box by the TV.

"Fang never wanted me to know about the things that went on in the School," Emma said softly. She tucked a piece of dark hair behind her ear as she bent her head to scrutinize the videos in the box. "He was trying to protect me. But over the years, I've slowly gathered information." She paused, looking at me. "The Gasman has terrible nightmares about it, even now. He wakes up in the middle of the night, mumbling about tests and scientists and needles."

I took a slow breath. I knew little about what the School was all about, but judging by the short clip Fang and I had watched yesterday, it was bad. It made sense that Fang would want to protect his sister from the truth - and it also made sense why we wouldn't tell our children.

"Have you watched any?"

"Just the beginning of the first video," I said, staring at the box in Emma's hands. It was the size of a shoebox, but I could see at least ten videos in there. Just thinking about what was on them made my skin crawl.

She set down the box, shaking her head. "Sorry. I shouldn't sound so interested in something so horrible… I'm just curious, I guess. Curious as to why Fang refuses to tell me or the kids about it."

"Do our kids know anything about our past?"

"They know that your dad and Fang's dad created the six of you for a scientific experiment. They know that you spent your childhoods being hunted and captured. A long game of cat and mouse, which is how you explained it to Aria a long time ago." She grinned at me.

"Fang's dad isn't your dad?" I asked.

Emma's face darkened. She carefully said, "We had the same mother, Evelyn Wilson. His father's was a scientist named Adam Harrison, and our mom was his intern. He got her to donate eggs to the project that later created Fang," Emma said. "My dad was MIA most of my childhood. I didn't know him."

"So, where's your mom?"

The feeling in the room made me regret bringing it up. "Jail. She became a scientist, too. But she wanted to destroy the world, not save it. And she wanted to use Fang to do it."

What? Fang's mother had tried to use him? I asked Emma what she meant.

Emma smiled tightly. "It's funny. Fang never talked about it. You're the one who told me what he went through…Now I'm telling you." Emma sighed. "After you put a stop to Itex, the evil company you six were created to get rid of, you guys settled into a normal life. A few months after you started going to school and Fang proposed to you, he disappeared.

"You had no idea where he was, and eventually you all thought he was dead. For two years, you all thought he was dead. Then you two shared a dream one night," Emma said. "He told you about that, right?"

"Not exactly _told _me," I said, recalling our shared dream.

I remembered that Fang had said that I'd been shot in the wing. We really needed to talk about that. I wondered if Fang thought that whoever kidnapped me did that, or if it was related to the fact that I lost my memory. It made me feel sick just thinking about it.

"Anyways," Emma said, waving her hand as if it were no big deal. "It was our mom who'd taken him. Tortured him for two years."

I bit my lip, watching her. She must've been in her twenties. She really did look a lot like her brother, too. I wondered how she felt about all of this. Her mom was a normal mother to her, and yet she'd tortured her brother heartlessly.

"You and Fang went through a lot together," Emma said finally. "But he loves you more than anything. He'd honestly do anything for you, Max. Please don't forget that."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Guys, you rock! I just…can't even explain it. Thank you so much! Here's another chapter for my awesome reviewers and dedicated readers. **

"A bullet wound to her wing? Ig, don't tell me you really think it's a coincidence," Fang said quietly. "It's got to have something to do with her losing her memory."

"I don't know, Fang."

"First, Aaron finds her car in a ditch. Max goes missing for a whole week. Then she turns up and doesn't remember shit," Fang muttered. "_With _a bullet wound in her wing. It was mended, too. Someone fixed it for her. Who would kidnap her _and _fix her wing?"

I followed their low conversation from down the hall. I'd been in Fang's study, scanning the novels on his bookshelf when I'd heard Iggy come in the front door. Apparently, Tuesday nights were dinner-with-Iggy-and-Ella nights. Unfortunately, Ella was MIA again, staying home with both the kids. I'd been kind of let down by that news, since, hello - I still hadn't met my _sister_.

Tyler had taken a girl named Brittany out on a date. Brittany, according to Fang, was Tyler's girlfriend. They've been together a few months. Aria was holed up in her room. Cassidy was in the living room, doing her homework. Alex was in the kitchen, 'helping' Fang and Iggy make dinner.

"I've got to figure it out," Fang said lowly as I walked out of the study and slowly down the hall. "What if someone from our past is trying to hurt her again?"

"Who would it be, Fang?" Iggy asked. "Evelyn's in jail, Harrison is in hiding. Jeb obviously has nothing to do with it. Chu, Gunther-Hagen…they all fell off the grid after we destroyed Itex."

I sighed, examining the cluttered walls as I made my way to the kitchen. I was tired of listening to it. No one knew what had happened to me, and I was absolutely no help at all. Was I in danger? Were the kids? Were we ever going to know?

I passed picture frame after picture frame, trying to take my mind off my kidnapping. A lot of them were of us when we were teenagers, or us as a whole family. Then I came across five large pictures in a perfect row to my left.

The first was of Fang and I. We were young, sitting close to each other on a small couch. His arm was around my shoulders. I was hugely pregnant in the picture.

There were four more pictures, all of us sitting or standing together. In each one I was pregnant.

I mentally counted in my head.

Five pictures.

Five pregnancies.

Four kids.

…

Something wasn't right.

My stomach rolled as I walked into the kitchen. Fang and Iggy's conversation ceased as I entered.

"Hey," Fang said lightly. "We were just spitting theories about your wing injury."

"Why are there five pictures in the hallway?" I asked bluntly.

Fang looked at me. "What?"

"In the hallway. Five pictures of us, pregnant. We only have four kids."

Fang's face fell. He glanced at Iggy, who had stopped what he was doing and was wiping his hands on a dish towel. Then he looked at me.

I stared at him, waiting. "What?"

When he didn't say anything, I backed out of the kitchen. The worst scenarios were speeding through my head. How could I even _trust _what he told me? He had control over my memory. He knew everything, I knew nothing. He could easily tell me something untrue.

One thing I knew wouldn't lie to me. One thing was buried upstairs in the dresser.

I walked up to our bedroom, closing and locking the door. I heard Fang's low voice as he spoke to Iggy, but I couldn't hear any words.

I dug out the old leather journal and started flipping through. Somewhere deep in the middle, there had to be an entry about it.

Finally, I found something.

_Journal, _

_I have to write it down. I have to write down what happened, no matter how much I just wish I could forget. I wish I could forget it all. The entire pregnancy. _

_But I have to write it down or else I'll explode._

_We were having dinner at Mom's when it happened. I was leaning over, helping Tyler cut his chicken and holding a steady conversation with Ella - who is pregnant, too, only she's a month behind me - when my water broke. _

_I should have __known__. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I had realized it hadn't felt right. Something hadn't been right. I felt different. But I had brushed it off. God, I wish I hadn't just brushed it off. Would it have made a difference? Would it have changed __anything__?_

_Fang couldn't stop smiling at me. I think about it now, think about the way he looked at me in the car on the way to the hospital and smiled, and I hate myself a little more each time. _

Fang was outside the bedroom door as I read. "Max?"

_Tyler and Aria rode with Mom, and I knew the others were all going to meet us at the hospital. I was getting nervous, wiping my sweaty hands on my pants. I started chewing on my lip. It was going to be fine. The other two times I'd been in labor I'd been fine. So __why__ was I feeling so uneasy now?_

_The beginning was just as it had been the first two times. The doctors flipped because they had Maximum Ride in their hospital, in labor. I was checked out by the doctor and then given a room in Delivery. This time wasn't taking nearly as long as Aria, but it wasn't as fast as it had been with Tyler. _

"Max, open the door."

_Fang sat next to me. It didn't really hurt yet, but I was still hyperventilating because that's just my way of handling things. Honestly, I don't remember a lot of it. But when it started getting a bit more painful, the doctor asked to talk to Fang out in the hallway. _

"_Wait-" I said, but Fang kissed my head and stepped outside. The others were all down the hall, waiting in the waiting room for us. _

_The doctor left the door open. He stood with his back to the doorway, Fang looking at me over his shoulder as he spoke. Fang's eyes suddenly slid over to focus on the doc and then he turned away from him completely and paced down the hall a few steps. Then he spun around just as fast and walked into the room, coming over to me. _

"Max," the door knob began to jiggle. "Max."

"_What?" I asked softly. I could tell something was wrong. Fang looked like he was in pain. I delved into his mind, only getting fragments like: "Why us? No. __Please__, no."_

"_Fang, what is going on?" I asked nervously. I turned to the doctor, who wouldn't even look at me. "__What's going on__?" _

I read the next sentence, written in my own shaky script. My breath caught in my throat.

The door opened.

Fang walked into the room. I cleared my throat and threw the book to the ground, trying to hide it.

"You're keeping secrets from me," I accused. Fang's eyes flashed from me to the ground where I'd thrown the book out of his line of vision.

"What? Is this what you wanted to hear the first day back? Oh, your name's Maximum Ride. We have four kids. We had another child, but it was declared dead before it was born and you had to give birth to a stillborn daughter."

I had _nothing _to say to that. Now he just looked a million different shades of hurt. And the worst part? I felt as if I was hearing the terrible story of someone _else's _miscarriage. Not my own. I felt like I was feeling sorry for someone else, not myself.

I hated it. I should've been a mess, I should've been in tears. Right?

But instead, I was automatically thinking, _That's horrible. What a horrible thing for _Max _to go through. _

Max. Not me. Max. We weren't the same. God, why weren't we the same?

"I _know _you know," Fang said. "I know you found a journal. I know you're reading about everything. What I don't know…is why you felt the need to keep it from me."

"What?" I gasped. "You have a million secrets from me and I can't have one from you?"

"It's not a competition!" Fang said. "I don't have secrets, I have _memories _that you don't remember. And I'm sorry that I couldn't save you from losing your memory, because I wish I could've. But you can't blame me for not dropping your whole life's story on you in one day!"

I stared at him.

"Our lives were _hard_. I didn't want you breaking under the pressure of hearing about our past. Being married isn't about keeping secrets, okay? I didn't know you had a journal, or I would've told you. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the baby we lost. There just hasn't been a good time. There is a lot we haven't talked about yet, but you've only been home for a couple of days."

"What about Dylan? Maya? Our breakup?"

"Those are all apart of our past," Fang said. "I will tell you about them. Tonight, if you want."

"Is there anything that you aren't telling me _right now_," I said, staring into his dark eyes, "that I should know about?"

Fang's jaw tightened. Maybe he didn't like the way I was acting as if I couldn't trust him. Maybe it was something else.

"No."

I sighed, slowly letting out the breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. I bent down and grabbed the journal off the floor. "I think…we could read this together," I said. "You can explain the things I don't remember and fill in the gaps."

Fang grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet. _We should do that. _

I jerked my hand out of his grasp and covered my mouth with it, feeling bile rise in my throat. I shoved past him and ran into the bathroom, bending over just in time to upchuck my stomach's contents.

I looked at Fang when I was finished, gasping, searching his eyes for an answer. He just brushed my hair back and gave me a small, sad smile. Before I could even ask what was wrong with me, we both heard Iggy calling from downstairs.

"Dinner!"

Eating sounded horrible at the moment, but I went downstairs with Fang anyways. Aria was sitting at the table, texting. Alex hopped up into his chair, smiling at Fang and I.

"Uncle Iggy makes the best dinner!"

I grinned at him, sitting down. Fang disappeared into the kitchen to help Iggy bring the food into the dining room.

I heard the front door open and close and wondered who else was coming for dinner. Everyone looked as curious as I was, which was a refreshing change of pace. At least I wasn't the only clueless one. That was definitely a first.

"Hey!" the Gasman called, walking into the dining room. He pushed off his jacket and threw it on the credenza against the wall, sitting across the table from me.

"Hey, Gaz," Fang said, carrying in a platter a huge bowl of some kind of pasta. "Didn't know you were stopping by."

"Neither does Emma, so let's keep it on the DL."

Fang shot him a glance, then sat down beside me. Cassidy finally appeared in the doorway and slipped into her seat. Iggy sat down, placing a plate of garlic breadsticks on the table.

Everyone started serving their plates and I said, "Emma told me you had work today, Gazzy. She said your boss sucks."

"Yeah, he does," Gazzy said, inhaling forkfuls of pasta like it would be his last meal. "Not all of us can have bosses like yours."

"Mine?" I asked. Fang rolled his eyes.

"Dr. Jameson has the hots for you," Aria mumbled from behind her phone. I coughed to cover my laughter. "And he hates Dad. No wonder."

"Aria, put your phone away," Fang said with irritation.

"Sorry, Dad. I was just explaining to Brian why my father's such an a-"

"Enough."

The tension was suddenly so thick I couldn't breath. I gently bumped Fang's elbow with my arm, trying to calm him. I don't know why, it was just the first thing that came to mind. Fang relaxed and looked at me, something unreadable in his eyes. I smiled lightly at him.

"Anyways," Gazzy said, setting down his fork. His plate was clean, and he'd already served himself seconds. "I wasn't at work today."

"You got a good reason to be feeding lies to my sister?" Fang asked coldly.

"I don't know, you tell me," Gazzy said, his voice nervous. He set down his fork and wiped his hands on his pants. He slid a small black box onto the table. "Good enough?"

Fang's eyes flashed down to the box.

"She doesn't have parents," Gazzy said, scratching his head. "Not ones that count, anyways. I want _your _blessing, Fang. I wanted to ask Emma to marry me."

Iggy smirked next to me. "This'll be good."

"Yeah?" Fang said. He sat back in his chair. "You want to marry Emma?"

"Yeah, I do," Gazzy said honestly.

"You sure? You're ready?"

"Were you sure?" Gazzy countered.

"Yes," Fang said immediately.

"I am, too," Gazzy said, sitting up straight. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Iggy leaned over to me and whispered, "I remember him saying the same thing about betting he could eat thirteen chili cheese dogs in five minutes."

"I'll have you know I ate _fifteen _in four minutes and thirty-eight seconds," Gazzy said to me, shooting a look at Iggy.

Iggy chuckled, swirling pasta on his fork skillfully. I grinned.

"Is she pregnant?" Fang asked.

"God, Dad, not everyone is like _you_!" Aria said. I sighed as Fang's eyes landed on her.

Aria glared at him just as fiercely. "I'm just saying, you and Mom made decisions that not _every _young couple makes-"

"Aria, you're excused," Fang said sternly, leaving no room for argument. Aria mumbled something and carried her plate into the kitchen. Alex followed her, holding his plate up to her as she walked by. Cassidy glanced around the table at us then went after her big sister, leaving just the adults.

Gazzy shook his head. "No, Fang. She's not."

"You _think_," Iggy said, pointing his fork in Gazzy's general direction. Fang ignored Iggy.

"How do you feel about kids?"

"If Em wants them, I want them," Gazzy said. He leaned over the table. "Why are you interrogating me like one of Aria's boyfriends?"

"Hey!" came from the other room.

"Because that's what it feels like right now," Fang said.

"Listen," Gazzy said. "I'm not telling you I deserve her. I _absolutely _don't. But I love your sister, Fang. Like…a lot."

"Like a lot," Iggy mused. "Romantic. Not as romantic as when I asked you for a blessing to ask Ella. I told you I wanted to marry her because she was good in the sack."

Then he shrugged his sleeve up his arm. "That's this scar, right here."

I laughed until Gazzy shot me a pleading look. "I'm sorry," I breathed out through my laughter, nudging Iggy and silently telling him to shut up.

"So, when are you going to do it?"

Gazzy's face brightened. "Is that a yes?"

Fang rolled his eyes. "Like I was going to say no?"

"Why the interrogation, then?" Gazzy demanded.

"It was fun watching - ahem, _hearing _you fumble," Iggy said.

"So?"

"I don't know," Gazzy said, turning red. "I kind of only planned this far."

I reached out and grabbed Fang's hand that was resting on the table. "How did you propose to me?" I asked.

Fang stared at our hands. I started to feel uncomfortable and began pulling away, but he held my hand tight.

"You kind of forced it out of me."

I smiled. For the first time, I didn't doubt it.

A/N: **Review**** for - **

**1) More from the journal **

**2) A very interesting Fax shower-scene (;**

**3) A twist! Gasp!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I already have 101 reviews! This is seriously so exciting, I love you guys. Here's a chapter for being so amazing. **

_Journal, _

_It had been eight months today since Fang and I found out we were pregnant. I was due in three weeks. My stomach was freaking huge, especially for a petite chick like me. _

_Anyways, our day started out fine. It was Saturday, so we had nothing to do. Everyone was out, doing their own thing. Fang and I were home. Now, usually, when we were home alone, we'd use that time to do…other things, but not as much since I'd gotten pregnant. _

Fang chuckled. I looked over the journal at him. We were curled up on the couch, late after the Gasman and Iggy left and the kids went to bed. We'd started reading the journal together. This was the third entry in the book.

Our feet were touching, both of us leaning against opposite arms of the couch. I cleared my throat and read on.

_I was laying in our bed, my stomach supported by one of those body pillows that pregnant women sleep on, and Fang came upstairs. He laid down next to me. I rolled over to my other side to face him and curled up to him instead, kissing his mouth. We kissed for a while._

_Then, when he pulled away, he pushed my hair back and said, "Are you sure you want to get married? _

"Oh, God," Fang mumbled. "This was terrible."

I grinned and read the next line that I'd written in capital letters.

_YOU DON'T SAY THAT TO YOUR PREGNANT FIANCEE. _

_So, of course, I got upset. Not just normal-Max-upset, but hormonal-pregnant-Max-upset, which is a million times worse. Then Fang got pissed because I apparently got upset a lot lately. So I rolled over and ignored him, hugging my body pillow. _

_I don't know. I guess that really set him off, that I was choosing my pillow over him or whatever. He stood up, ripped my pillow away from me, and - since he couldn't come up with anything better, I guess - threw it in the shower and turned the faucet on full blast. Soaking my body pillow. _

_I started screaming at him, crying my eyes out. I pushed him out of our room and down the stairs, shoving him at the front door. "I hate you! Get out! I hate you!" _

_And that's when Aaron came in, totally unsuspecting of what was going on. _

"_GET OUT!" _

_Aaron stared at me with wide eyes. Fang slammed the door on his way out of the house, and I saw Aaron begin to follow him. Then he saw that I was crying uncontrollably and cursed under his breath, turning around. _

"_Come here," he mumbled. _

Fang looked at me. "You forgot to mention that you threw a chair at me."

"While eight months pregnant?" I asked doubtfully. Fang nodded, grinning.

"Yeah. Hurt like hell, too."

_He led me upstairs and I laid down on the bed. Aaron went into the bathroom and turned off the shower. He asked why my body pillow was in the shower and I just started crying some more. He laid down next to me, staring up at the ceiling. _

_I crawled over to him and laid against him, using him as my pillow. _

"_What's wrong?" _

"_Shut up," I said. "Just be my pillow." _

_After half an hour or so, I whispered, "Fang doesn't want to marry me."_

_Aaron hand was rubbing the small of my back comfortingly. "Did he say he didn't want to get married?" _

"_He asked me if I was s-sure," I mumbled, hiccupping violently. _

"_That's not the same thing, Max," Aaron said softly. _

"_Shut up. Who asked you, anyways?" _

_Aaron sighed. _

_I just laid against him, hiccupping. _

"_Max?" _

"_What?" _

"_My pants are wet." _

"_Gross," I said, shoving him. I levered myself up on my elbows, lifting one arm to wipe my nose. _

"_Yeah, well, it was you," Aaron said, scratching his head. _

_I looked down, realizing he was right. "Oh, my God! Aaron, oh, my God! No! Fang was supposed to be here! Oh, my God…" _

_And then I started crying all over again. Because my water had broken and Fang was supposed to be with me but he wasn't. I cried and cried and cried, and Aaron just stared at me, not sure what to do. Finally he got me up and made me get in the car. _

_I cried the whole way to the hospital, while Aaron tried to get me to calm down. He called Fang and told him I was in labor. Honestly I don't remember much. _

_I was a mess until Fang busted into my delivery room wearing powder blue scrubs - a sight to behold, I tell ya - and kissed me deeply. _

"_I love you," he said, cupping my face. _

_Now I'm writing this, and it all seems really stupid. The fight, I mean. But I look over at Fang, who's holding our son and looking at him as if he's never been more amazed in his whole life. _

_And honestly, today has just been the best day ever. _

I paused, looking at him. "Should we keep going?" I asked.

Fang sighed, looking at the clock. "It's almost midnight."

I closed the journal. I looked at him, a million questions in my head all at once, not sure which one to ask first. Or whether I should ask at all. He stood and started turning off the lights in the lower half of the house while I went upstairs and got ready for bed.

I laid down and, when Fang came into the room, closed my eyes. He knew I wasn't asleep, but pretending I was at least almost unconscious gave me a cover while I examined him through squinted eyelids.

He pulled his shirt up over his head. He had light scars making patterns all over his dark olive skin. Scars that told a story, told who he was. I'd seen scars before, but not ones like these - jagged and rough, like you could imagine the pain and agony they'd caused. As Fang started to step out of his jeans, I flipped onto my other side, squeezing my eyes shut. He was handsome. When I closed my eyes and pictured him, it was his dark hair that looked perfect all the time, and his almost-black eyes that seemed to say all the things he didn't. His sharp jaw, his toned muscles.

But I only knew his outside. I knew the surface. I had no idea what _he _was like on the inside. What we were like _together_.

I felt the bed sink with his weight as he laid down next to me. I felt like I was in bed with a complete stranger. I felt like an intruder in his home, in his life. Someone who didn't belong.

_You belong here, Max_, he thought to me. _You're home. _

_Goodnight, Fang._

He sighed. _Goodnight. _

• • •

Nudge let herself into the house while I was puking my guts up in the bathroom.

"Max…are you okay?" she asked, opening the bathroom door to find me kneeling over the toilet.

I gave her a sarcastic thumbs up. Apparently, it's really hard to be sarcastic through hand gestures. She asked anxiously, "You sure?" as another wave hit me, hard.

Fang had work again, and apparently it was dire that he be in the office instead of working from home. He'd taken the kids to school today at six.

Now it was almost ten. Nudge had called and asked if I was busy, which of course I wasn't, so she said she'd come over.

Nudge patiently waited for me to be finished, then handed me a cup of water.

"Are you sick?" Nudge asked. "Do you want to go to the doctor?"

I shook my head. I didn't feel sick, other than the fact that I occasionally had the need to lose my breakfast.

"I don't know what wrong with me," I moaned. "I'm just throwing up."

"Just throwing up, huh?" Nudge pondered this a second. "Maybe your pregnant."

I choked on the water, swallowing with difficulty. "No."

Nudge leaned against the counter. "Why not?"

I reddened. "Because…Fang and I haven't been doing that."

Nudge raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? What about _before _you lost your memory?"

Well, I obviously wouldn't remember...But, that couldn't be it. Just not _now_. Now that I had no idea who I was? Now that I felt like strangers when I was alone with my husband?

I couldn't be pregnant.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "No, I don't think…"

"Alright," Nudge said, putting her hands on my shoulders. "Well, we'll never know for sure unless we do something about. So, come on. We're going to the store."

• • •

"What the hell?" I demanded.

"What? What does it say?"

We'd gone back to Nudge's apartment, which was about thirty minutes away from my house. I was standing in her bathroom while she practically kicked in the door.

I threw the door open. "Do Fang and I, like, throw caution to the wind and refuse to use protection or something? We're like, _forty _right? There's no way we planned this! We already have four kids. Now five? _What the fuck_?"

"Thirty-four," Nudge corrected, staring at me. "Congratulations," she said positively. "I'm going to be an aunt - again."

I glared at her, dropping the tests I'd taken into the pocket of my coat.

I walked past her out into her living room and sat down on the couch, sighing. "I don't even know him."

Nudge sat down beside me, flipping her bushy curls over one shoulder.

"I don't know anything about him! We're strangers! And now we're pregnant?"

Nudge grabbed my hand, which gave me a surge of comfort. "Max, listen. I know everyone's been telling you that Fang loves you and you love him and all that, but believe me when I say that you two are meant for each other. Completely. There's no better match on the entire earth. You two knew each other inside and out. And even though you've forgotten, Fang still knows you. You guys are like…PB&J."

"Do you think he knows? That I'm …pregnant?" Saying it just _felt _weird.

"If you knew before your memory was wiped, then yeah. I think he probably does. You and Fang didn't keep secrets from each other. Not even when you got pregnant in high school. You guys are too connected to keep secrets from each other. If one of you doesn't say it, the other will just see it in their mind."

I let that sink in. That, no matter what, my mind would always be open to Fang.

"So, he's got to know," I said. "There's no way he doesn't."

I felt a rush of anger. I'd asked him, _specifically_, if there was anything important that he wasn't telling me. And he'd said _No_. He'd lied. I mean, maybe he and I had different versions of _important_, but in my world, being pregnant is pretty damn high up on the list.

How come it was so easy for him to keep his thoughts from me, but not vice versa?

I stood up. "Can you drive me home?"

She nodded. "Wait. I have something for you."

Nudge disappeared into a doorway and came back holding a large scrapbook.

"I was putting this together to give to you and Fang on your anniversary. But seeing as it may help you remember something…there's no use in waiting. It's mostly finished anyways." She handed the book to me and smiled, brushing her hair behind her ear again, though it immediately untucked itself. Her eyes were round and bright. I smiled at her.

"You two should sit down and look through it together. There may be stuff in there that even he's forgotten about."

I nodded. I would definitely do that. After I chewed him out for keeping secrets from me.

Once Nudge dropped me off, I walked inside. Tyler was cooking something in the kitchen.

"Hey, Mom! Where've you been? Gave Dad a heart attack," Tyler said. He held out a wooden spoon with really yummy smelling sauce on it and Cassidy leaned forward from her perch on the counter, tasting it.

"Delish," Cassidy said. "But needs more pepper."

Tyler tested it, too. "More pepper? Are you kidding? It's perfect."

"I left a note," I said. "Where is he?"

"Upstairs," Cassidy said.

Aria bustled through the kitchen, past me, moving up the stairs two at a time.

"Hello, Aria," I called to her.

"Hey, mom. What's crackin'?"

Then her bedroom door shut.

I could feel us bonding.

Alex was sitting on the couch, his head hanging off the bottom and his feet swung over the back. The blood had rushed to his forehead. He grinned at me, missing a few vital front teeth.

"Hi, Mommy! Watch this!" He threw three fruit snacks in the air and caught them in his mouth. While upside down.

"Impressive," I said. "I'm…gonna go find your dad."

Tyler waved the spoon at Cassidy as she tried to steal more sauce. "No, you vulture! Get away!"

Cassidy jumped up to stand on the island. "I'll show you a vulture!" She snapped out her raven wings, flapping them as she stared down at her brother. Standing on the island only made her a head taller than him.

"Cassidy! One of your feathers is in the sauce!" Tyler yelled.

I moved upstairs. I felt furious that Fang had kept this huge secret from me, and now that I was seconds away from confronting him, I wondered what I could say to really make him regret lying to me. I shoved into out bedroom, reaching into my pocket to grab the pregnancy tests, then saw that he wasn't in the room.

I heard the shower in our bathroom.

Without really planning, I stormed into the bathroom. I stepped forward and yanked the curtain open with one angry swipe.

I don't think it registered in my brain that Fang was probably naked in there. Or, at least, it didn't register until I was staring at him. My jaw dropped.

He was facing away from me. My eyes raked his back and his retracted wings, both dripping with water. The scars that adorned his back looked like intricate, depressing artwork. Beautiful. I hadn't seen his scars this close before. Then my eyes moved further downward…until I was staring at his _perfect _backside. Hot damn.

He turned around.

Which meant that my admiring of his backside suddenly became my staring down in shock at his…_front _side.

Jesus Christ.

"Huh." My voice was slightly higher than usual. My eyes snapped up to Fang's face. He was looking at me, completely comfortable with this entire situation. If not a bit amused.

"Sorry," I squeaked. My entire plan of yelling at him for keeping secrets from me was completely out the window.

"Don't apologize," Fang smirked. "It's alright to be intimidated."

I exhaled in disbelief, my jaw dropping. That cocky bastard. I decided to wipe the smirk right off his gorgeous face.

"You're the one who should be intimidated," I sneered. "You've got a pissed _pregnant _wife on your ass."

Just like I'd known it would, that sentence banished his smirk.

"Who told you?"

_Who told me? _Who else _knew_? I scoffed.

"_First Response_," I hissed, holding up the tests. There were two, and I chucked each one at his gorgeous face. One smacked him right between the eyes. Good. "But I would've rather my husband had the guts to tell me to my face! God, Fang, I thought I was sick or dying or something, throwing up all the time."

"I just…" he trailed off, looking guilty. Good.

"Why did you think it would be a good idea to keep something like that from me?"

"Can we talk about this somewhere else?" Fang asked.

I refused to let him take control of the argument.

"No! 'Being married isn't about keeping secrets.' You're so full of shit! You lied to my face!"

"Max."

"When I asked you if you were keeping anything important from me, I figured being _pregnant _would probably make it somewhere on that list."

"Max!"

"What?"

"I'm in the shower," Fang said pointedly. "You tend to hurt people when you yell at them. I feel defenseless."

I blushed against my will. "Fine," I spat.

"Max, wait."

I shoved out of the bathroom and slammed the door.

What a great start as expecting parents.

• • •

Dinner was horrible.

The kids all knew that Fang and I were arguing. Or, more accurately, that I was ignoring him. We sat, silent, poking at our dinners with disinterest.

"Gosh, Mom, you just met him," Aria said, smirking at me. "You already can't stand him?"

Fang jabbed him food with his fork, shooting Aria a _You're not helping _look.

"Mommy and Daddy are fighting," Alex stated simply, slurping a noodle into his mouth and leaving sauce on his chin.

"No, we aren't," Fang said, giving him a napkin.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, we are."

"No, Max, we aren't."

"Yes, Fang, we are!"

"You guys are fighting about whether or not you're fighting," Tyler said.

"A match made in Heaven," Aria said sarcastically, waving her fork.

"Eat your dinner," Fang said. "Your mother and I are not fighting."

"_Yes_, we are. And quit talking about me like that! Quit saying 'your mother' when I'm _right here_!"

Okay. That was a little too much. Like, what else was he supposed to call me?

Fang stared at me. I huffed and stared down at my dinner.

"What just happened?" Cassidy asked, sounding completely lost. That made two of us. Tyler shrugged, shoveling food into his mouth. Aria rolled her eyes, pushing her food around on her plate.

It was exactly like the Brady Bunch. Except, _not_.

Alex just said, "Mommy, do you still love Daddy?"

Well, shit.

"Alex, stop," Aria whispered. "You can't just ask things like that."

"Why not?" Cassidy inquired. The idea of her mom not loving her dad obviously freaked her out. "Of course she loves him, Alex."

"But," Alex said through a mouthful of food, "she doesn't remember him. How can she love him if she doesn't know him anymore?"

The six year old summed it up.

"But…she has to." Cassidy stared at me with wide eyes, pleading. "Right, Mom?"

"I…" I looked at Fang, expecting him to interrupt and calm everything down, like he's been doing since I got here. But he just stared at his plate.

"Does that mean you don't love us, either? Because you don't know us? Are we just someone else's family to you?" Cassidy demanded.

And how could I say no to her when it was true? I didn't know them. Sure, I felt attached to them, and I liked them, but I couldn't say that I was in love with Fang. I could say Max _had been_, but was _I_?

Aria glanced at me. I'd never seen her try to be productive in _stopping _a fight, but she looked about ready to. "Cass, it's not that easy."

"It should be! Loving your family should be as easy as breathing!"

It was actually getting hard to breathe right then.

"Cassidy, enough," Tyler said, sounding a whole friggen lot like his father. "Give her some space, would you?"

"She's my mom! I shouldn't have to give her space! I shouldn't have to tell her what I'm like and when my birthday is and what my stupid power is! She should know! But she doesn't, and now she and dad hate each other and she won't even _touch _any of us with a ten foot pole!"

Cassidy turned to me, tears in her eyes.

"Why did you have to go and lose your memory? You ruined _everything_!"

And I really felt like she was right.

I sighed as she ran out of the room. Tyler went after her. I started to see this bond between the two of them I hadn't noticed before.

Fang said quietly, "Aria, take your brother upstairs."

"Come on, Alex," Aria said, for once not arguing with Fang. "Let's get you into a bath."

I pushed my plate away and rested my head in my hands. "Oh, my God."

"It's okay," Fang said. He got up and sat in the seat beside me. His hand rubbed my back comfortingly. "I know it's hard. I'm sorry. I know there's a lot on your plate already. That's why I didn't tell you about the baby."

I could understand where he was coming from. "I _need _to know the important things. No matter how hard they're going to be for me to hear, I need to know, Fang. Please."

"I know," he said softly.

I nodded, and in that moment he knew he was forgiven.

"Don't take what Cassidy said too seriously," Fang whispered. "She's just taking it hard, that's all. It'll get easier. She just wants her mom."

"What if I can't be _her_?"

Her as in Max. Her as in old me. _Fang still knows you_. That's what Nudge had said. But he didn't know me! He knew…her.

"You _are _her."

I shook my head. "I'm different. You and I both know it. I don't know if I'll ever be the same again."

"That's okay," Fang whispered. "We won't stop loving you any less." _I won't_, he added in my mind.

I sucked in a slow breath then let it out. "They hate me."

"They don't hate you," Fang said. "They're just confused. The only solid thing they've ever been able to rely on was us. We were their constant. Now everything's harder."

"They blame me for losing my memory. It could be my fault. I mean, maybe I'd been careless and been in an accident or something. Who knows?"

Fang scratched his head. "Aaron said they aren't giving up the investigation. I talked to him today. Told him about the bullet wound in your wing. But that's not much to go on. They're searching your car."

"Do you think someone was trying to hurt me?" I asked, turning my head to look him in the eyes.

"Yes," Fang said honestly. "But maybe that's just because I'm paranoid. Always have been. More so ever since… ever since Evelyn. She was my mother."

I knew he was expecting me to ask. "Emma told me some of it."

Fang nodded. "It couldn't be her, though. She's in jail. For life. We just have so many enemies that I can't narrow it down without any clues."

"I'm not sure what we should do first," I said quietly. "Try to get me to remember, or try to find out what happened to me. If it was foul play."

Fang looked at me. He cocked his head to the side, examining me. Then he got this…look in his eyes. "I know. How about," he said, moving closer to me, making my heart race, "we get to know each other first?"

"Uh…" I stammered, unable to think straight. Or breathe. Or form coherent sounds.

He. Was. So. Close.

He looked a bit nervous, as if talking to his wife was like talking to a woman he met in the supermarket. "I'm Fang."

"Hi," I said. "…Max." It seemed ridiculous that I was 'meeting' my husband at the dinner table, our four kids just upstairs. But it was also making my heart race speed up.

Fang smirked at me. "Well, Max," he said. "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

And my heart _melted_.

**A/N: Please review and tell me what you thought…I'm dying to know. **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Ugh. If you ever have the option to take boring classes over the summer to get ahead on credits, DON'T DO IT. No matter how beneficial it may be in the long run, waking up at six and losing twelve days of precious summer is horrible. Just saying. **

**Anyways. Thanks SO much for the reviews! Fantastic! And **_**very **_**flattering. **

**Read on!**

"Max, you came!" he said, smiling up at me. "Mocha cappuccino, on me. Come on, sit down."

I eyed him, neither taking the seat across from him nor the coffee in his outstretched hand.

"Who are you?" I asked. "Why do you look so familiar to me?"

He grinned wider. "You remember me?"

"You're familiar. Your face, your voice," I said. "But I don't remember my husband or my kids. Why _you_?"

His smile fell. "Yeah…your husband. I saw the news. Congratulations."

There was nothing congratulating about his tone. He laid down a magazine with a picture of Fang and I, one that looked _long _outdated, with a headline that read "New Flock Member On The Way?"

I looked from the magazine to him again. How the hell did the press find out?

Reluctantly, I reached down and snatched the tabloid out of his hand. The story on the inside of the magazine said someone saw me and Nudge buying the damn test.

Ugh. Fang was going to flip when he saw this.

"Sit down, Max. Talk with me."

"I don't trust you," I said, refusing the chair. "I don't even know who you are."

He smiled, challenging me with a raise of his perfect eyebrow. "You don't trust me, and you don't know who I am…but you showed up here anyways?"

I bit my lip.

"Here's what I think," he said. "I think something inside you, some part of your subconscious that you don't even know about, remembers me." He winked. "A part of you _wants _me."

I blushed furiously. He _knew _I was married. He _knew _I had a family. In fact, he acted as if he knew a lot about me. And he was accusing me of…wanting him? I huffed and turned to leave. Whoever this guy was, he wasn't worth my time. He was messing with my poor, already-confused head.

"Max, wait!"

I turned around and glared down at him, waiting. He opened his mouth to speak, but then glanced behind me. He shut his mouth and stood abruptly.

"I'll see you soon, Max."

Then he left.

I turned around to see what had spooked him. Aaron, the officer who'd found me (or, the officer who's house I'd stumbled upon after waking up in the woods) caught my eye across the room.

Why would this mystery man be afraid of Aaron?

Aaron looked up, saw me, and waved me over.

"Hey, Max," he said. "What're you doing here?"

"Uh…"

"So, how's that memory coming along?"

"Not great," I said.

"Fang said you guys have a date tonight," Aaron said, taking his coffee from the barista and weaving through tables toward the door. I followed him. "That's progress."

"I guess," I said.

"What's that?" Aaron asked, pointing down at my hands. It was then that I realized I was still holding the magazine.

"Um…just some dumb magazine," I said.

"Hmm." He looked me up and down. "Well, get in. I'll drive you home. Or wherever you're going."

"I, uh-"

"Max. A pregnant woman like you shouldn't be walking home from town. It's nearly twenty minutes. Flying's no better. Not when I've got an idle cruiser on hand," he said, motioning to his police car. "And, I refuse to let you disappear on us again."

I sighed and got in beside him. "Did Fang tell you I was pregnant?"

Aaron gave me a look. "No, the tabloid in your hand did."

Oh.

"Are you okay, Max?"

"Yeah," I sighed, leaning my head against the seat's headrest. "Just overwhelmed."

"I could tell. If you were being yourself, you would've kicked my ass for that 'pregnant woman' comment, telling me you could do anything I could do ten times better."

I sighed. If I were being myself. "I probably could."

"You definitely could," he chuckled, taking a drink.

"So," I said tiredly. "Tell me." I left it at that. I just wanted him to do the talking for once.

"Anything you want," Aaron said, looking at me and winking. "I know all your secrets."

I waved my hand dismissively. "I'm tired of hearing my secrets. They aren't juicy enough. Tell me about you."

He nodded, thinking for a second. "Well, my wife's name is Sophie. Met her in college. She was my only serious girlfriend, besides Emily, but we were on and off throughout high school until she broke up with me before graduation."

I frowned.

"Soph and I got together in college and just stayed together," he said, turning his blinker on to turn down the rocky gravel road to my house. "It's funny. You used to always tell me 'It'll just feel right. When the time comes, it'll just feel right.' Well, it really does. With Sophie."

Well, look at me, giving romantic advice and all. From what Fang had told me, that seemed really out of character. You know, since I ran from him for months before admitting that I was totally in love with him. (Then again, that is what _Fang _told me. Probably a bit exaggerated, right?)

"We have a son named Carson. He's six. We would've had kids sooner, but Sophie wanted to wait until she was out of law school, and there was really no rush. She wants another one."

"Do you?"

"Of course," Aaron said. "It's just…It's just my job is dangerous sometimes. You used to be my partner, you know. Then you got shot, and you almost died. I just remember having to meet Fang in the hospital lobby, carrying Tyler and Aria, and I had to tell him his wife was in critical condition. I don't think I've ever prayed harder in my life. I was so afraid that my best friend was going to lose you and your kids were going to lose their mom. I don't ever want Sophie and our kids to go through that."

I didn't know what to say to that. Aaron shrugged. "I'm not worried about having kids. Soph and I've got a few more years. You'n Fang, though, jeez. You guys procreated like it was the last thing you'd do."

I blushed.

"You've got great kids though," Aaron said. "Shocking, considering you two were as rowdy as they get." He chuckled at his own joke.

"Yeah, they are pretty great," I said softly.

"Aria's the only rebellious one, but she's just like you, so it makes sense," Aaron continued. I noticed that he was being much more talkative now than he had the day I'd met him. I was finally getting to know someone instead of just asking about myself. And honestly, the Aaron I was getting to know, I was really liking.

"Why do she and Fang argue so much?" I mused.

"Didn't I just say she was exactly like you?" he laughed. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, do you know why Fang hates her boyfriend?" I asked.

Aaron nodded. "Oh, yeah. I was _there_. Saw it all happened. Watched Fang kick him out and stuff. Fang went up to tell her something - I dunno what - and found 'em messing around. Nothing serious, just harmless stuff. Kissing, roaming hands and all. But, then again, nothing's harmless when it's your little girl, I guess. Fang's hated Brian ever since."

I nodded. "Guess that's why Aria's always throwing my and Fang's relationship in his face."

"Yeah, she thinks Fang's a hypocrite. She knows you and Fang had Tyler right out of high school, and thinks Fang's got no right to tell her what to do in _that _department. She basically rebels against him out of spite."

"It makes for great entertainment."

Aaron shot me a look.

"Is that horrible? That I get entertainment out of my daughter rebelling against my husband?"

"Yeah, it is," Aaron said. But then he added, "But it also means Max is still in there, somewhere."

He pulled up outside my house.

"Want to come in?" I asked.

He shrugged, just as his radio started giving him a report. "Looks like I gotta scram. I'll see you guys later, Max."

Inside, I threw the magazine away and went upstairs. I felt like taking a shower. As I was walking into the bathroom, the phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey." It was Fang. "The kids all have plans tonight. Your mom's taking Alex, Cass has something going on…well, the point is-"

"We get the house to ourselves."

He chuckled. "Exactly. Listen, I was going to take you out, but there's some things in magazines about us that…"

"I know, I saw. I didn't know they'd see us buying the tests," I said, sounding defeated.

"Well, I just think we should stay in tonight. Cool?"

"Sure."

"Okay. I can't cook much more than pancakes and hotdogs, so…takeout?"

"Great," I said.

"I'll be home in a couple of hours, just got to finish up with some final prints..."

"Sounds important," I teased halfheartedly.

"Not nearly as important as tonight," Fang said, sounding exhausted. "I'll be out of here by five, at the latest."

"Don't keep me waiting."

"I wouldn't dare."

**A/n: ****Date night is next! ****Review**** for date night!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Those reviews are seriously amazing. Thanks so much!**

I'd dosed off after my shower, and the next thing I knew it was six thirty. I rolled off the still-made bed and brushed a hand through my hair, swallowing thickly. I could hear Fang downstairs, the sound of plates and utensils clanking together. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth, ridding myself of "morning" breath.

I went downstairs and saw Fang, still dressed in his work clothes, setting the coffee table as if it were the dining room table.

"Didn't want to eat in there," he explained. I nodded, sitting down. Fang sat down across the table from me on the floor, crossing his legs under himself like me. He loosened his tie.

I reached forward and dumped a container of some kind of pork onto my plate. Fang just watched me, his body tense.

"I was going to get your favorite wine, but considering the baby and all…"

"Water's great," I said, chewing the spicy meat slowly. "Calm down."

"I'm calm," Fang insisted, rolling his shoulders. I grinned.

"Sure. I talked to Aaron today."

"Now I'm not," Fang joked. "What about?"

"Just stuff. I saw him at the coffee shop in town and he drove me home. We talked about Sophie and Carson. About the time I got shot when I was his partner. He said that's why he's so reluctant to have more kids."

Fang nodded. "That shook him a lot. He kind of blames himself. Partners are supposed to look out for each other. You told him after the accident that it'd been your stupidity, not him."

"We also talked about Aria and why you hate her boyfriend," I said.

Fang sighed, rubbing his hand across his forehead. "She could do a lot better, but she settles for _Brian_. The kid's scum, to put it nicely."

"What's he like?" I asked.

Fang looked up at me, as if realizing something. "I don't know."

"How can you hate him if you don't know?" I asked, amused.

"He was all over her. It was a pretty bad first impression."

"_You _were all over _me_," I said.

Fang grinned. "Still am. Notice you said _me _and not _Max _that time."

I bit my lip. He'd caught me. I hadn't even noticed I'd done it. I eyed him as he went back to his food.

"So why were you at the coffee shop today?"

I froze. Tell him? Not tell him? Tell him, not tell him, tell him-

"Tell me," Fang said, as if it were the obvious answer. Then again, I guess it was. He'd probably find out, anyways. And since I needed all the help I could get with all this…_remembering _stuff...

"A man showed up here on Tuesday after you left for work," I blurted. "I don't know who he was, but he told me to meet him at the coffee shop today. I did. He still didn't tell me anything about who he was."

I left out the subconsciously-wanting-him part.

"A man?" Fang asked. He set down his chopsticks.

"Yeah," I said. "We can talk about it later."

Fang relented, noticing that I was uncomfortable. We ate together in silence occasionally talking about the kids or other normal things. The weird thing was, I was comfortable in our silence. It was soothing. We finished our food together and I stood up, groaning.

I flopped down on the couch on my stomach, mumbling about how full I was and how delicious our dinner had been. Fang cleaned off the coffee table then pushed it away from the couch. He laid down on the floor beside the couch, his head by my head. I gave him a pillow.

"So," I said, staring down at him over the edge of the couch. "Answer me this."

"Shoot," he said.

"Why don't you just give up on me?"

Fang gave me a look. "Besides the fact that you're my wife and you're our kids' mother? Besides the fact that we're a family and I love you?"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek and nodded.

"I've chased after you my whole life," he said. "I'm used to it by now."

I laughed. "Seriously."

He smirked. "Seriously, Max. There's nothing I've ever wanted more. I'd fight for us forever."

"Thank you," I whispered.

How could someone love somebody else that completely? It was so incredible to me. I guess I had loved him, too, just as much. But his dedication? His patience as he sat around and told me about our lives together?

I couldn't even explain it.

"You know," he started uneasily, "when we were in high school, I was kidnapped by Evelyn. She messed me up. For two years, I was just…tortured constantly. But you never gave up on me, Max. Even when I had days when I would come out of our room and talk to anyone, even when I tried to block all of it out and not let it bother me. You never stopped being there for me. We just do that for each other. We always have."

I stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"Nudge gave me a scrapbook," I said, remembering from earlier in the week. "Said she'd been putting it together for our anniversary, but wanted to see if it'd jog my memory."

"Well let's see it," Fang said.

I felt his eyes on me as I got up and went into the study, where I'd put it. It was a simple grey book, thick and heavy. I was sure something in there had to jog my memory, right?

Fang had readjusted on the couch, his feet kicked up on the coffee table. I sat down next to him, bringing my legs underneath me. I propped the book up on our legs.

Fang pulled the cover open, saying, "Nudge always had a think for crafts." He shot me a smile.

The opening page was dark blue. There were a couple pictures of us as kids.

"Obviously, we don't have many baby pictures," Fang said softly. I nodded. "We were fourteen, here. Your mom took it a while after we met her."

I stared at the picture, taking my time, looking at every detail, willing the photos to spark something in my mind. No dice.

The next page was full of pictures taken from the ground. I decided the small specks against the sky were us, all six of us, flying.

"We did air shows, for a company your mom worked with. The Coalition to Stop the Madness," he said. "Basically flew around and did tricks for millions of people to raise awareness for pollution and global warming."

"Who's that?"

Fang smirked at me. "Our _very _good friend Brigid."

"What's so funny?"

"You hated her," Fang said. "You were jealous of how much she liked me."

I scoffed. I didn't know why, but that ticked me off. "I was not jealous."

"How do you know?" Fang taunted. "You don't remember."

"Well, I know I wasn't jealous of _her_," I mumbled. "God, she looks thirty or something. Freaking cougar."

Fang chuckled. "Max, you amaze me."

We flipped through many more pages, full of pictures of us when we were younger. A lot of them you could tell we were forced to stand together. Others it was obvious we didn't know they were being taken. Tons of Fang and I together, or one of us with another member of the flock. A couple of Fang and Emma. A few of Fang, me, Iggy and Aaron.

"Who is that? He looks so familiar…"

The look on Fang's face was unforgettable. I heard him think, _She remembers him, but not me. _

"Oh! He's the one who came by the house…what's his name?"

Fang looked at me, his jaw tight. "He's the man who came here?" he asked in disbelief.

"I mean, that kid plus fifteen or so years."

"You stay away from him. In fact, if you see him again, tell me. I'll take care of it."

It pissed me off that he was treating me like a child. If the man was so fucking dangerous, then why wasn't he telling me? Fang was avoiding my eye contact. Maybe the man was right. Maybe I had liked him, or wanted him, at least in the past…and Fang didn't want to tell me.

"Who is he?"

"That's Dylan."

My eyes widened. "Dylan? As in, the Dylan that used to be apart of the flock?" I asked, recalling what Iggy had accidentally told me. He'd said we used to 'date'…

"Yeah."

I sat there, thinking. "Did I ever date him?"

Fang looked at me. "You said you didn't."

"Did you believe me?" I countered, the tone of my voice sharp and challenging.

"Yes. But Dylan always pretended you guys had more going on than you really did. He was _made _to love you. To be your mate."

It sounded so cold and impersonal. Dylan was made for me? _Made _to love somebody? Like, as in, created that way? That was just sick. I wondered why that was so important…especially if I'd had Fang. Fang looked at me for a moment, not saying anything, then turned the page quickly.

On one page, there were two stickers of a tiara and a crown. Underneath there was a picture of Fang and I next to Ella and Iggy and Aaron and his old girlfriend, Emily. Fang and I were the only one's not dressed up.

"Prom king and queen?" I asked.

Fang shrugged. "Wouldn't know. We didn't go."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You _did _have a dress," Fang said. "But, at the time, you were almost three months pregnant, and you didn't fit in it. So we told your mom you were sick and stayed home. She still wanted a prom picture, so we took pictures without dressing up."

I nodded, looking at the picture below, that was just of the two of us. We were both laughing uncontrollably.

"We hadn't told anyone about the baby yet," Fang said, grinning. "Your mom made us pose with my arms around you, my hands on your stomach. We thought she was oblivious to the fact that you were pregnant, so we were cracking up."

"We _thought_?" I asked.

"She knew the whole time," Fang said, rolling his eyes. "Told us at graduation that she had mother's intuition."

"That's awkward," I mumbled. "So she knew we'd tried to hide it to her for months?"

Fang nodded. He pointed to the other page. "I forgot about this."

It was a picture of me, Iggy and Fang, in that order. Iggy's arms were slung around mine and Fang's shoulders. Both Fang and I were flipping off whoever was taking the camera, but we were both grinning, too. The three of us were in our caps and gowns at graduation.

"Aaron was taking that one," Fang said, as if that explained it all. Which, it kind of did now that I thought about it.

The pictures slowly turned into wedding photos and baby photos. Fang was amazed to see all the pictures, bringing up old memories and things he'd forgotten. I, on the other hand, was kind of depressed that I wasn't remembering shit.

"We have a wedding video," Fang whispered. "I promise we'll watch it. If…I can find it," he grinned down at me. I rolled my eyes.

Fang's arm snaked around my waist some point during our page flipping, and when we got to a page with a picture of him holding Aria, he sighed and pulled me against him. I let him. In the photo, he was holding Aria on his hip. He was staring into her eyes and she was staring right back, her hand on his face. She was young, maybe four, and her long black hair was pushed behind her ear. Fang's lips were turned up into a smile beneath her fingers.

I could feel what Fang felt in that moment. And for a second, I didn't feel like he was a stranger. He was just my husband. His mind was open to my mind, and I saw that he was just my husband, the man who wondered what had happened to the relationship he'd had with his daughter.

I put my hand on his arm, the only thing I could think of.

Fang turned his face away from the picture to stare at me. I stared back. We were extremely close, his breath on my face, his lips mere inches away from mine. His fingers curled into a fist around the hem of my shirt, pulling me closer. I couldn't look away from him, even if I wanted to.

He didn't feel like a total stranger to me. Right now, he felt like _mine_. Like someone I could be comfortable with, someone I could trust. Someone I loved.

"What do we usually do…on date night?" I asked.

He grinned, and without thinking, I reached up to touch his cheek. "We take advantage of being alone," he said softly.

"Well, we _are _supposed to be acting as normal as possible," I breathed.

He moved closer to me, pulling me against him more so I was practically leaning on him.

"Fang."

"What?"

"I'm scared."

"Don't be."

When his lips touched mine, there was nothing else in the world except me and Fang and that moment.

I'd been looking in videos and diaries and scrapbooks, trying to remember something. Anything.

But the real key had been right in front of me the whole time.

Fang's lips were soft and warm against mine. _Familiar_. Lips I'd felt before. Lips I'd kissed a hundred thousand times. Times that I could suddenly remember. This wasn't the first kiss. This was one kiss in a long line of _fucking amazing kisses_. I closed my eyes, leaning against him. Feeling the rush.

_Fang's hand gently smoothed my hair off my neck. My breath froze in my chest, and every sense seemed hyperalert. His hand stroked my hair again, so softly, and then trailed across my neck and shoulder and down my back, making me shiver._

"_What the heck are you _doing_?"_

"_Helping you change your mind," he whispered, and then he leaned over, tilted my chin up, and kissed me. _

Fang's arm that was around my waist pulled me, hard, and lifted me up onto his lap. My knees were on either side of him. His other hand ran up and down my arm. I held his cheek as we twisted and tilted our heads, getting closer. His tongue swept over my bottom lip and I pressed my mouth against his harder, craving more. A tingling sensation shot through my body as we kissed.

_We ducked through the worn nylon flap of our tent, and I dropped the sack. In the next moment we had our arms around each other, ignoring the dust on each other's lips and our hot and sticky skin. _

"_The flying was great, but…I've missed you." Fang murmured, his hands getting stuck in the snarls in my hair. _

Fang was slowly turning me onto my back, hovering over me on the couch. I impatiently wiggled his tie off and wrapped my arms around his neck. His tongue grazed mine heatedly, his fingers bunching up my shirt at my sides. We were both gasping for breath.

"_We need to stop," I breathe while his mouth goes across my jaw, "using this place to make out."_

_Our next kiss is slow, my lips moving in sync with his._

I pulled my mouth away from Fang's roughly, feeling my stomach flop. I clamped my mouth shut urgently.

Fang gave me a look. I pressed my finger to his lips and thought, _One second._

Then I wriggled out from under him and ran to the bathroom, where I kneeled over the toilet quickly and threw up.

"Was I that bad?" Fang murmured, kneeling next to me and pulling my hair back.

Laughing + vomiting = bad combo.

"Stop," I said, shoving him away as another wave hit. He didn't budge. His unoccupied hand rubbed my back.

When the puking subsided, I groaned and looked up at Fang. He was sitting next to me, his elbow on the counter, his chin in his hand, smiling at me.

I gave him a sour look. I flushed the toilet and pushed him out of the way so I could gargle _the entire bottle _of mouthwash.

I spit out the burning green liquid and scooped water from the faucet into my hand, swishing it around and spitting again. The I took a big drink.

I looked at Fang. "I remembered."

Fang waited for me to elaborate. If he was excited I couldn't tell.

"I don't know what it was…When we kissed I just saw all these other times…In a cave, a tent, a blue room…"

Fang smiled, pulling me against him. "See? It's coming back. Slowly."

I nodded.

"What happened in the cave?" Fang murmured. "We've made out in many, many caves."

I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the feeling those words gave me. "I was freaked out," I said. "By the kissing, not the cave."

Fang grinned. "That was the first time I kissed you. You ran away."

"Then a tent-"

"In Africa. Before we met Dylan. That was right after you _stopped _running away," Fang said.

"Well the last one was in a room that was completely blue. And I told you we had to 'stop using this place to make out'."

"That was a dream," Fang said. He pulled me out of the bathroom. We sat down on the couch again. "I guess…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck unsurely. "I guess now is a good time to talk about Dylan."

I didn't say anything. I decided I was going to sit and listen and let him explain everything before I reacted.

"When we were fourteen, we got serious. We were still on the run and everything, but we started focusing just on being together. That put the others in danger since we weren't being as careful. Then Dylan came along and told me that I was putting everyone in danger, that I was putting _you _in danger. So, I left."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. I wanted to say, _That's stupid, you idiot. Couldn't you see he just wanted you out of the way? _I didn't.

"I didn't tell anyone I was leaving. I left a note," Fang said quietly. He sounded really…guilty. Even now, after, like, twenty years. "Basically just telling you we were better off apart."

He waited for a second. "Not even an entire month after I left, we started developing powers. We shared a dream, first. Then we could read each other's thoughts and see glimpses of what the other person was doing. We learned to teleport to each other. To see visions of the future through each other's eyes…It kind of forced us back together, in a way. I brought two people with me when I came back. Holden, the one who lives a few states over. And…your clone. Maya."

"I…have…a clone?" Other questions were whipping through my mind, like: _He was went to my clone when he left me? _

"They cloned you at the School. Wanted to replace you with her. Trained her to be…different. She was nothing like you."

"But you went to her anyways?" I blurted.

Fang gave me a look that said, _Let me finish_. I sighed.

"We all became a big flock together after our powers kicked in. You even warmed up to Maya. Eventually."

"So where is she now?"

Fang looked a bit pained at that question, and for a second I felt bad for asking.

"We had to destroy Itex, the company that we'd named _the School_. Maya, you and I were locked up in Itex, and they were going to kill you." He gulped. "So Maya acted like you and they killed her instead."

I felt like the breath had been knocked out me. "I let her do that?"

"I'm sure if you'd known, you wouldn't have let her. At all. But, she did it while we were sleeping. Switched your jackets, stole the ring I'd given you."

"Why would she _do _that?"

Fang didn't answer.

"Thank you for telling me," I whispered. I knew it had been hard for him. Honestly, I just felt like we were getting closer every time he told me something. Fang, probably reading my mind, nodded and pulled me close to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.

"So, if kissing you helps me remember things…" I trailed off.

Fang lifted his head and looked down at me mischievously.

"What are we waiting for?"

Fang tilted my chin up, his lips descending on mine slowly. I couldn't even think. I let him kiss me, our mouths opening to one another and tasting each other languidly. Fang pulled away, kissing my chin.

"Anything?"

I shook my head, panting.

"Hm…let's try again."

**A/N: ****Review for Tyler!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you so much, guys. I feel so blessed to have reviewers like you. Seriously. It is so amazing that I can't even explain it. **

**On the ninth chapter of **_**Risks**_**, I was begging for 80 reviews. This is chapter 10 and we're already at ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TWO reviews! **

**I am just…speechless. **

**Thank you to everyone who's been with me from the beginning, whether you were an avid reviewer or a silent admirer…you're incredible either way. If you're still silent…well, let me just say I love hearing from you guys and a review telling me what you think would be awesome. Thanks so much. **

**Trust me, guys. I read every review, sometimes even more than once. They seriously are my motivation.**

**Okay! How about a little insight into the world of Tyler? **

Tyler hated driving just like his mom did, but for different reasons. He hadn't been in a car accident that led to him laying in a coma for days, but he still hated it as much as her. He would rather fly. Everywhere.

Flying was incredible. Peaceful. Amazing. He loved feeling like he was free, feeling like he was on top of the world. Feeling like, for just a little while, he could do _anything _in the world.

He didn't get to fly much, though, because most of his friends didn't have wings. You know. It wasn't like mutants were mass-produced or anything.

But he wished they were.

Brittany, of course, didn't have wings either. And though he'd taken her flying before, it had only lasted a few seconds because she got scared and forced him to land. A girl who was afraid of heights, dating a guy with wings - sounded like the beginning of a cheap joke, right?

Brittany was tall, only about a head shorter than Tyler. And, well, Tyler was a freaking skyscraper. So that meant Brittany was actually on the tall side, for normal people. She had brown hair that was the color of milk chocolate and light green eyes.

When Tyler picked her up Friday night, she was wearing jean shorts and a her varsity soccer hoodie. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back with a headband. She got into the passenger seat.

"Go to Kristen's," she said after leaning over to kiss him. "She's having a party."

Tyler frowned. Aria had told Fang she was going to Kristen's house. She had left out the fact that Kristen was throwing a party - probably one of the biggest ones of the entire year.

Kristen Ramsey was filthy rich. That was all there was to it. It wasn't like Tyler and his family didn't have money - being famous gave them a lot of perks and all - but Kristen's family liked to flaunt it more than the Rides did. Her three story mansion was settled on the outskirts of town, almost thirty minutes from Tyler's house. She had a huge swimming pool, two hot tubs, and a wing of the house that was completely her own. Not like it mattered anyways. Her parent's were always away on business, earning the money that Kristen used to buy the cheap beer that Tyler's friends were all getting drunk drinking.

As soon as Tyler parked the car outside Kristen's house, he was counting down the minutes until he got to leave. He'd been expecting Brittany to want to go out to eat or hang out at her house or something. Not go to a stupid high school party with drunk kids everywhere. You think you know someone…

Brittany clasped his hand in hers, weaving through the pulsing crowd of teens. People were greeting Tyler left and right; fellow players from the varsity baseball team, girls who were probably more obsessed with his dad than him, kids he'd never even met. It was all really overwhelming. Tyler hated it.

"This is hell," Tyler said lowly in her ear. "Can we leave?"

Brittany looked up at him, frowning. "Already?"

"Yeah," Tyler said, taking the cup of beer from her hand and handing it to some random kid as they walked passed. "Let's get out of here before the cops show."

"Have some fun, would ya?" Brittany said. She picked up another plastic cup from the deck and smirked at him. "Look. I have no idea whose cup this is _or _what's in it. Drink up."

Tyler frowned. "No. Come on."

Wasn't _he _supposed to be trying to get _her _drunk so they could have a little fun, not the other way around?

Brittany grinned. She slowly raised the cup to her mouth. "Britt," he sighed, taking it from her. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, grumpy old man," Brittany said. "Would it really be that bad if Tyler Ride got in trouble, for once?"

Considering the fact that it would be all over the tabloids, yeah. Tyler just shook his head, putting his arm around her.

People were shouting all around them, along with the pumping music that was making Tyler's bones shake. Not to mention people constantly coming up to them, hitting Tyler on the back and saying hi. "Let's go somewhere private."

Brittany was Tyler's weakness, he realized. He let Brittany push him around. Or pull him around, rather, since she was latched onto his hand again and this time, heading for Kristen's pool house on the edge of the yard.

"Why don't you ever do anything fun?" Brittany asked teasingly, opening the pool house door.

"I - _Aria_?"

Tyler held Brittany back, stopping her before she turned on the lights. It was dark, and she probably couldn't see a thing, but he could see it all. _Way _too much.

Like the shirt on the floor that he instantly recognized as his sisters. Thank God he didn't see any discarded pants on the ground or he probably would've passed out. He could see two forms in the opposite corner of the room. Tyler groaned, glaring up at the ceiling. Fucking hell. This was not happening.

"Beat it!" Brian growled from across the dim room.

"Brian," Aria whispered, silently telling him to chill out.

Tyler shook his head, gritting his teeth.

He was only a year older than Aria and Brian. He was sixteen, they were fifteen. But he looked eighteen, and he used that power of his to the best of his advantage.

Tyler walked across the room and literally picked Brian up off his sister. Maybe he didn't have Aria's strength, but he could still pummel a grown man. As if his parents had taught him nothing? He'd been training since he was two.

"What the fuck, man?"

Tyler threw him down. "You'll get the hell out of here if you know what's best for you."

Brian scoffed, shot a look at Tyler and then Aria, then turned to leave.

"I don't need this shit," Brian growled. He left his shirt on the floor next to Aria's and stomped out of the pool house. Apparently Brian did not like being shown up.

Boohoo.

"Brian, wait!" Aria wailed. She stood up and shoved Tyler so hard that he collided with a table cluttered with pool chemicals and floaties. He groaned.

"Aria!"

Aria grabbed her shirt off the ground and threw it on haphazardly, chasing her boyfriend out of the pool house.

Aria could run as fast as she wanted, but Tyler could _teleport_. So, in seconds, he was across the yard, grabbing his sister's wrist.

"Let go of me," Aria spat. "You've done enough."

Then she decked him, pouring her anger and strength into it. The crowd around them gasped as Tyler's nose started gushing blood. Tyler could already hear the gossip, see the text messages. _Did you hear?_ He hated his life right then.

"I think you broke my nose," Tyler groaned. She wiggled away from him.

Tyler sighed and chased her to the front yard, where Aria stood on the road, watching Brian's car speed away.

"See what you did? You asshole!" Aria hit her brother again, this time on the arm. There would definitely be a bruise there tomorrow.

Tyler grabbed her again, ignoring the pain in his nose and the blood gushing out, trying to slip in between his lips. He wiped his mouth, coughing. "Are you drunk?"

"No!" she exclaimed.

"Get in the car," Tyler demanded. "Now."

"You can't tell me what to do!"

"Do you want me to call dad and let _him _make you get in the car?"

"Fuck you, Tyler," Aria hissed at him before sliding reluctantly into the backseat. Brittany came running out of the house.

"Are you okay? Oh, God, what happened?"

"Aria happened," Tyler mumbled, touching his nose gingerly. "I'll be fine. Get in the car, Britt."

There was no way her was leaving his girlfriend at the party, and no way in hell was he going to let Aria stay, either. Everyone was going _home_.

He sounded like his parents. Suckers of all fun.

Brittany didn't argue.

After he dropped Brittany off at home, he and Aria fought the entire way back to their house. Aria was crying and screaming at him. Finally he pulled into the driveway and she forced her way out of the car, slamming the door and running to the house. Tyler sighed, locked the car, then transported to the front door.

"I _hate _you, Tyler!"

"What else is new? You'll thank me later."

"I hate you!"

When Tyler followed his sister through the front door, he saw Fang and Max sleeping on the couch, curled up together. They sat up when they heard Aria's yelling.

"What's going on?" Fang asked groggily. He eyed Aria, whose face was awash with tears, and Tyler, who's face and shirt were covered with blood.

"This," Tyler said wryly, motioning to his ruined shirt and the blood crusted under his nose, "is what I get for lookin' out for my little sister."

"Your damn _son _ruins everything!" Aria screamed.

"Quit cursing," Fang ordered. "Calm down and tell us what happened."

"I stopped her from making a couple dumbass decisions, and now she hates me for it. Just another Friday night," Tyler said angrily.

Max's eye landed on her son. "What happened to you?" Without waiting for an answer she ran off to the bathroom to get a wet cloth.

Both of the kids ignored their parents and continued arguing.

"I can take care of myself! I'm _strong_."

"Maybe physically," Tyler said. "But emotionally? You'd do anything Brian told you to do! Don't let him push you around like that, Aria! You're better than that!"

"As if you would know!" Aria cried.

"So, you were in there on your own free will?" Tyler demanded.

"He's my _boyfriend_, Tyler, not a freaking pedophile!"

Fang was suddenly between his two oldest kids, pulling them both a step back. "What happened?" He shot a look at his son and his bloody nose. "Did Brian do that?"

"Are you kidding? That punk couldn't deck me!" Tyler said indignantly. He leaned against the back of the couch, looking at his sister in disgust. "Aria broke my fucking nose."

"The next one who curses in this house is grounded until they're thirty."

"So, what'll change?" Aria asked sarcastically.

"Why did you punch your brother?"

"Because." Aria stopped, wiping her eyes.

"Because why?"

"You don't understand!" Aria cried, running out of the room and up the stairs. Tyler let his mother clean him up as Fang ran a hand through his hair.

"Tyler, what happened?"

"I picked up Britt and took her to Kristen's party-"

"Your sister didn't say Kristen was having a party," Fang said.

Tyler just looked at him. "Are you surprised?"

He had him there.

"Anyways, Brittany and I were going into the pool house - ow, Mom! I'm fine! - and we walked in on Brian and Aria fooling around. So I scared the sh- _crap _out of Brian and he ran. Which pi- _ticked _Aria off," Tyler explained, careful not to curse again. Max stepped back.

"Go change," she said, walking into the kitchen to throw away the rag she'd cleaned his face with. In a flash, Tyler had transported to his room.

"I'll go talk to her," Max said, putting a hand on Fang's arm. He just shrugged. He knew he couldn't talk sense into their daughter. Maybe she could.

• • •

I knocked on Aria's bedroom door lightly.

She stood up and opened the door, surprisingly without a fight. She looked up at me through her tears and sniffled, heading back over to her bed. She flopped down on her stomach and buried her head in her pillow.

"What?" Aria asked thickly after I sat down on her bed next to her.

"Nothing," I said. "I'll just wait."

Aria sniffled and sat up, facing me. She hugged one of her pillows to her chest and rested her chin on it. Tears were still streaming down her face.

"Why are you crying?" I asked softly. "What happened?"

Aria swallowed, wiping her eyes. "Brian and I were hanging out in the pool house at Kristen's, and Tyler barged in with his girlfriend. When he saw me and Brian, he pulled Brian away from me and threatened him. Brian got mad and left. He left me there, Mom. Drove off without another word to me. He's probably going to break up with me at school on Monday, all because of Tyler."

She choked out another sob. "You don't understand. Love came so easy for you. Dad was there for you your entire life. I love Brian. I'd do anything to stay with him. You don't understand having to fight for love like that."

It didn't make sense to me. If she really loved Brian as much as she thought she did, she wouldn't have to change herself and go against her family to be who he wanted. And if he loved her at all, she shouldn't have _had _to fight for him.

"He told me he loved me tonight," Aria said into her pillow. "Now it's all ruined."

"If he loves you, he won't let your brother get in the way," I said softly. "If he loves you, he'll love you no matter what. Love isn't something you can just turn on and off."

"So," Aria looked up at me curiously. Almost challenging. "Does that mean you still love Dad?"

"Yes," I said. I wasn't lying to her, and she knew it. I did love him. I may not remember everything about him, but I still felt safe in his arms, and loved when I was with him, and I realized that I wanted to be with him more than anything.

"What if…what if Brian doesn't love me enough to stay?"

"Then he doesn't deserve you. He isn't the one." I thought about what Aaron had said. Advice I'd supposedly given him, a long time ago. "It'll feel right, when the time comes. When you find the right guy, it'll feel right."

When Aaron had said that to me, it hadn't made sense. But kissing Fang tonight…it had felt nothing but right. It _did _make sense. It felt like the best advice I could give my daughter.

"You know what I think?" I said. "I think he'll never deserve you."

"Really?"

"Really. Your dad thinks so, too. He's afraid you'll give him what you _think _he deserves." I paused for a second, letting that sink in.

Aria sniffled again, wiping her eyes. "You know, sometimes it's hard to believe you lost your memory."

"What?" I asked in surprise.

"I know you think you're this completely different person than what everyone's telling you…but you're still Mom. You're still Max Ride, when you're not worrying about _what would Max do_."

I smiled at her. "I'll keep that in mind," I said.

**A/N: So…I want to try something. I'm going to confess to you guys something I've never told **_**anyone**_**. **

**I am deathly afraid to pursue a career in writing or literature. **

**Anyone else got confessions? I want to hear them. And I want to hear what you think about this story, about this chapter, about what may come next…? **

**While you do that…I really need to write the next few chapters!**

**Review. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thanks for the confessions, guys! I am also afraid of big spiders, crickets, drowning, being buried alive, and clowns. Not so bad with heights, though. Just went to Six Flags and had a blast on the coasters. :)**

**A lot of you said that you either were afraid to write or afraid to upload onto Fanfiction for fear of ridicule or failure. Trust me. We ALL feel like that, I promise. If you don't believe me, read the quote in my picture! It speaks the truth. Listen, the truth is, failure is just a step to success. And honestly, without Fanfiction, I would know nothing about writing. Constructive criticism, no matter how harsh, will always make you a better author. You just have to take the criticism in stride and let it help you instead of letting it drag you down. Some people can be horribly blunt with reviews, but that's OKAY! **

**Fanfiction is a place to grow and learn as an author and an artist. We are creating _art_. Create! Don't be afraid to express yourself! (And, if you don't believe me that I started out as a horrible writer, go look at my first story, _You're On!_ It's crazy how different my writing is compared to the trilogy.) **

**Annnnnd, look at me, preachin' like a hypocrite. I guess I shouldn't be afraid to follow my dreams, either. Sigh. Y'all got me. **

**ANYWAYS! You guys, I have 212 reviews. That's stunning. So stunned I can't even breathe. **

**Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. been cherishing my summer while I can! Anyways, I really need to sit down and write, like, ten more chapters. ANd I haven't yet! So there may be a bit of a delay... Don't hate me. **

**Please review!**

"We're doing _what_?"

Fang smirked as he loaded the back of the van. It was Saturday morning, and he'd woken all of us up at seven AM, forcing the kids to pack bags for a mysterious destination. He and I had discussed it last night, after all the drama died down. I thought it was a great idea.

"Camping."

Aria, still angry from the events of last night, huffed. She was no doubt glaring at Fang and I behind her Gucci sunglasses.

"We haven't done that since I was, like, eleven," said Tyler, sounding psyched. And a little fuzzy, since his nose was all swollen and bruised. He was currently helping Cassidy clean out her feathers. The kid had twigs the size of my arm stuck in there. How, I don't know.

I raised an eyebrow at Fang. He shrugged. _We got busy, _was his excuse. Riiiiight.

"Well, guys, Mom and I spent our childhood on one big camping trip," Fang said, shoving Aria's duffle into the trunk. She huffed in irritation.

I knew he was referring to the way we'd been on the run as kids. "It'll do you all good to get some fresh air in your lungs."

"Just the six of us?" Aria demanded. "Alone in the woods?"

"'Course not," Fang chuckled. "The flock's coming, too."

"We can't just leave! While I'm in the middle of a crisis?" Aria demanded. "I'm staying here. Just in case Brian calls."

"No, you aren't," Fang said firmly. "This is a family experience."

"Aria, it'll be really good for us," I said, shoving Fang aside and hefting my bag up into the back of the van even after he tried to take it from me. As if I couldn't do things just because I was a couple weeks pregnant? He should know better.

"Sure!" Aria retorted. "Maybe it'll even jog your memory, and you'll remember eating desert rat _right off the bone_!"

Cassidy squealed in disgust.

_We did not, _I thought anxiously. Fang grinned.

_We did. _

I swallowed forcefully. I'd done really good at holding off on the whole blowing-chunks thing, but now it was getting a bit harder.

"Aria, everyone is going. All the kids. Aaron is bringing Sophie and Carson. You are not going to be the only one staying home. Get in the car."

Aria stomped her feet as she made her way to the car and crawled all the way into the back, muttering the whole way.

"She'll get over it," Fang said, closing the trunk with both hands. "Always does. You good?"

"All set," I said, buckling Alex into his car seat. "How far is the drive down?"

"Only about an hour," Fang said. Then, shooting me a smirk, "It'll probably feel like days."

It wasn't that bad. Considering Aria and Tyler were ignoring each other, it was actually better than I'd expected. When we finally got to the area that, apparently, we'd been camping on for years, I jumped out of the van.

I knew this place.

"Max?"

I weaved through the woods, feeling as if I were following a distinct path. Somehow, I knew the way. I walked through the trees until I stood at a specific pine tree and looked at it. This was it.

I ran my fingers over the indentions on the bark, closing my eyes.

"_Here," I said, reaching down into my boot to hand Fang my pocket knife. _

_Fang raised an eyebrow at me. "A hugely pregnant woman should not be carrying a pocket knife for any reason."_

"_I'm going to ignore the fact that you just called me huge," I said. Fang grinned. _

"_What do you want me to do with this?" Fang asked. I grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the place where Aaron was trying - and failing - at setting up out tents. Iggy was knelt by the pit, letting little Tyler held him pile little twigs onto a stack that would soon be a fire. _

"_That one," I said a few minutes later, pointing to a wide pine tree. _

_Fang looked at me, waiting for me to elaborate. I leaned against another tree, waiting. "Well?"_

"_Well, what?" _

"_You gonna carve our initials, or not?" _

I traced the _M F _with my fingertip. I felt a presence behind me before he said anything.

"Me and you," Fang whispered, coming closer. He then grabbed my hand and lowered it to the initials underneath the _M F._ "T for Tyler, A for Aria," he said, going down the line. "M, for Maya." He paused, his hand on my waist tightened a bit. Maya. We must've named our miscarried baby girl after her. I closed my eyes. Fang still moved my hand against the rough bark. "C for Cassidy, A for Alexander."

"I know," I whispered. "I remembered."

"I know," he said, and I felt his lips press to the back of my scalp. I leaned into him, closing my eyes.

"Dad! We're kind of stuck here!"

Fang dragged me back to where the kids were trying to set up camp. Tyler was in a tangle with the tents' poles, Cassidy was chasing Alex down to the dock that jutted out into the huge, sparkling lake. Aria-

"Aria, put the phone down and come help your brother."

"Busy," she called. She held her cell phone higher above her head, trying to get a signal.

"Not anymore!" Out of _nowhere_, Iggy slammed into Aria, which barely shook her, grabbed her phone, and pretended to chuck it into the lake a few feet away from them. "First rule of survival: No electronics!"

I turned around to see Ella and Olivia, the latter of whom holding a small toddler. Ella burst into laughter when she saw Aria _throw _her uncle into the water.

"I can't _believe _you just did that!"

"Look down, Chicken!" Iggy shouted, surfacing in the middle of the lake. "I never threw it!"

Aria glanced down and saw her phone laying in the grass and huffed angrily. "Don't call me Chicken!"

Iggy lifted himself out of the lake, shaking his head like a dog. "You used to love being called Chicken."

"When I was _five_."

Ig smirked and walked over to Ella, who put a towel in his outstretched hand. He dried off his hair and pulled off his sopping wet t-shirt then said in my direction, "Aria had trouble flying as a kid. I named her Chicken."

Ella came over to me and hugged me tight. "Hey, sis. How's it going?"

"Great," I said, looking at her. It was the first time I'd seen my sister outside of photos. Her brown hair was cut at shoulder length her brown eyes the color of milk chocolate.

"I've heard," Ella grinned. Her eyes darted down to my stomach.

"Yeah," I said sheepishly. I spun around to spot Fang finishing putting up the second tent for the kids then heading to help Cassidy put a worm on the hook of a fishing pole.

"Catch something good for dinner, Cass," Fang said after he showed her how to cast out the line.

"Aye aye!"

Fang came over to us and nodded at Ella.

"Hey, Fang," Ella said.

"C'mon, Liv," Iggy called. "You're going to learn how to pitch a tent."

Olivia ran over to Ella and held the small boy up, offering him. Ella grabbed him and watched Olivia lead her dad to a flat place to put up their tent.

"This is Aiden," Ella introduced, bouncing the baby on her hip. "He's one."

I smiled at him just as Alex ran up in swim shorts and a life jacket.

"Daddy, will you buckle me up?" Alex asked, squinting up at Fang. Fang knelt down and buckled Alex's life jacket.

"Look at you, Mr. Mom," I joked.

Fang gave me a teasing look as Alex ran towards the water. "Someone's got to do it."

"I think I'm doin' pretty damn good, considering," I said.

Fang grinned. "Yeah. I mean, your condition and all," he said, motioning to my stomach.

"You say that like it's a disease!"

"'Course not," Fang said, "but if it was, your immune system would be shot to hell, considering how many times you've been pregnant."

I rolled my eyes. Fang and I turned when we heard another vehicle coming down the secluded gravel road. Before the blue truck was completely parked, Emma jumped out of the passenger seat and burst into a sprint, headed straight for us.

"I'm engaged!" she screamed, jumping into Fang's arms. He wrapped his arms around her, spinning around to prevent himself from falling from the force of their collision, and chuckled.

"Congrats, Em," he said into her hair.

"Look!" she gasped, pulling back enough to hold her hand up in his face, showing off her ring. "Look at it! Isn't it gorgeous?"

"He spoiled you," Fang said, grinning.

"I know!" Emma kissed her brother's cheek, hugging him tight. Then she turned and hugged me, too.

"That's great, Emma," I said, hugging her back. She pulled away, her face flushed with happiness.

"Thanks! I mean, it was about time. Not like I haven't been expecting it since, like, high school or anything."

"Hey, spaz!" Gazzy called pulling down the door to the bed of his truck. "You slacking?"

Emma grinned at him. "Gotta go help the _fiancée _unpack," she said. She ran back to help Gazzy.

"Let's make sure their tent is far away tonight," a voice said from behind us. Fang and I turned to see Aaron.

"Dude," Fang said with disapproval. Aaron grinned.

"Just meant we can't be kept up by their wedding planning all night. That's all." Aaron winked at me.

"Don't make sex jokes about my sister."

"Well if she's anything like her brother…"

Fang rolled him eyes. "We told you it was a Max and Fang trip only. We weren't going to change our agenda just for you."

"I mean, you could've at least left the tent every once in a while," Aaron said. I looked up at Fang, my eyes wide. He just smirked, shaking his head.

"When'd you guys get here?" I said, just now noticing the new vehicle. Sophie set Carson down and he ran towards the lake immediately. Tyler scooped him up halfway there and said, "Little man, you need a swimsuit first!"

I looked back at Aaron. "We pulled up while Em and Fang were having their little weep-fest over here. Very touching," Aaron joked. Fang rolled his eyes.

"Now we're just waiting on Nudge and Angel?" I asked.

Fang shook his head. "Angel had work. Nudge is bringing her boyfriend, Josh."

"How long have they been dating?" I wondered aloud.

"A long time," Aaron said. "Like, forever."

"Not forever," Fang said. "They've been on and off since Nudge started college. Steady dating for ten years."

"Are they engaged or anything?"

"Been engaged for about five," Aaron said. "Josh is in the Airforce, so he's gone a lot. They've been trying to find the right time to settle down."

"TYLER!"

The three of us spotted Aria and her older brother across the field.

"I'm doing this for your own good," Tyler said calmly. He shoved his sister's phone into his pocket. "Stop trying to text him. You're obsessing." He picked up a football and threw it at her playfully. "Have some fun."

She caught it and glared at her brother. "I'll have some fun, alright."

Tyler took off running down the clearing and Aria chucked the football at him so hard it hit him in the back of the head and he stumbled.

"Give me my phone!" she screamed.

"Never!" he cried. Aria chased after him.

"Always a circus in the Ride house," Aaron said, elbowing me. "You wanting out yet?"

I shook my head. "It's never boring, that's for sure. You should've seen their meltdown last night."

"I'm glad I didn't. I've witness too many as it is."

Fang grinned. "They interrupted our date night."

"Really? How was _that_?" Aaron said. "You know, once Iggy and I interrupted date night. More like shag night. Now that was-"

"Not a story for right now," Fang cut in, grinning at me. "Trust me."

I didn't even want to know.

"Dad! Heads up!"

The football flew from Tyler's hand and spiraled through the air. His aim was a bit off, though. It was headed straight for me. I squeaked and reached up, catching it with one hand.

Where the hell did those reflexes come from? I stared down at my hand in disbelief.

"Way to go, Max!" Gazzy called.

"Mom, here!" Tyler said.

I threw it and he spread his wings, jumping into the air to catch it. Aria reached up with lightning fast reflexes and grabbed his foot, yanking him down, hard. Then she caught the ball with one hand and stood over her brother.

"Give me my phone, or I'm hitting you where it counts."

"You wouldn't."

"That's what you said last time," Aria sneered. "You couldn't walk for an hour. _Give me my phone_."

Tyler shook his head. He wasn't getting up because Aria's foot was planted on his chest. She raised her hand that was holding the football, pretending to aim.

"Okay! Okay! Fine!"

He pulled her phone out of his pocket. "Here, you little brat."

She snatched it from his hand and dropped the football by his head.

After seeing Tyler jump like that, I realized with a start: I hadn't flown yet.

I looked at Fang. _I'll be right back, _I thought. He knew what I was going to do. He smirked and nodded, knowing this was something I needed to do for myself. He leaned back against a tree and crossed his arms, his eyes still on me.

Meanwhile, I shrugged off my jacket, letting it fall to the ground. I shook out my wings, stretching them, feeling them move. It was so natural. They were a part of me. A part of Max, I realized.

I felt a rush as I started running down the clearing. I wondered if I was doing it wrong. What if I fell and embarrassed myself?

But it came to me, as instinctual as knowing how to walk. Suddenly I pushed off the ground with both my feet, at the same time pushing down with my wings. I felt myself lift off the ground, felt my wings catch the air. I was _flying_.

It was so freaking cool.

I started flapping my wings harder, gaining altitude and heading off in a random direction. I soared higher until the others below were all just specks on the ground. I turned in a full circle, wanting to see how fast I could go.

And just like that, I was going _fast_. Like, one moment I could discern what was what, and the next, the entire forest was a big brown and green blur beneath me. I gasped out a laugh, cutting through the air so fast I could barely breathe. After a minute or so, I stopped and hovered in the air. I couldn't see the camp anymore, but I wasn't worried. I knew which way I'd flown. I scanned the horizon around me, spotting the sunset in the distance.

For once, I didn't feel like every step I took was a cautious one. I felt comfortable in my own skin, like I _knew who I was_, or at least had an idea. It was so refreshing, so relieving. I didn't feel lost anymore. Sure, I had a lot more to learn, a lot more to remember, but it was slowly coming back to me. Slowly but surely.

I didn't feel like I'd be lost for much longer.

**A/N: Review for more camping with the flock & kids!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So, thank the fact that I am home with a 101.1 fever, which means I get to stay home from summer school. My sickness is the only reason I am updating today. I'm sitting here, swaddled in my comforter, a wet cloth on my head and drugged up on Advil. **

**Here's chapter 12! Thanks for all the humbling reviews, guys!**

"I caught something!"

It was almost dark. Nudge and Josh had arrived around two. We'd spent all day enjoying each other's company and hanging out with the kids. We'd even gotten everyone to play a boys vs. girls game of football, followed by an adult vs. kids game of chicken. Once we'd all settled down and Gazzy had started building a fire, Cassidy had gone back to fishing.

Fang jogged over to where Cassidy was standing on the dock, pulling her fishing pole hard. He helped her reel in the fish. It was a decent sized largemouth bass.

"Ig, we got dinner!" Fang called. Iggy whooped.

"No!" Cass cried, pushing Fang's hands away. "We can't kill him!"

Fang looked down at her. She fearlessly grabbed the fish from him and tried to wiggle the hook out of his mouth. "Don't worry, little guy. I'll save you."

"Here, Cass," Fang said. He knelt down and showed Cassidy how to remove the hook. Then he gave her the fish to toss back into the water.

"Now what are we gonna eat?" Aaron called in fake disappointment. "One of the kids?"

"I nominate Aria," Tyler said immediately. Aria smacked him, leaving a big handprint on his face and he shoved her so hard she fell off her log.

"Cut it out," I said, "or you two have to share the small tent."

Aria made a face.

"Aria would taste too sour anyways," Aaron joked, digging hotdogs out of the cooler he and Sophie had brought. Like, twenty packages of hotdogs. We don't mess around, obviously.

"Would it kill you to smile, Chicken?"

"I'll kill _you _if you call me Chicken again," Aria said. She was still holding her phone in different spots, trying to stumble upon a sacred area of service.

"Why did the grumpy kid get the most dangerous power?" Nudge mused, sticking four hotdogs on a peeled stick to roast over the fire.

"I think teleportation is very dangerous!" Tyler insisted.

"How?" Nudge asked, grinning.

"Aunt Nudge, you don't even want to know what I use my powers for," Tyler said, wiggling his eyebrows. She laughed.

Fang came over to us, Cassidy on his back. "Well, Miss Animal Lover over here couldn't bear to keep her fish. Looks like were eating Oscar Meyer tonight."

"Still better than rat," I said.

"So much better!" Nudge said. She was leaning against Josh as they roasted hotdogs. Everyone else, too, was putting their dogs onto sticks and taking turns roasting them.

"So, Fang. Did Max show you the scrapbook I made?"

"Yeah," Fang said. "We looked through it yesterday."

"It's awesome, Nudge," I said, helping Alex put his hotdog in a bun. "You did a great job."

"Thanks. Oh! I almost forgot. You guys will _never _guess who I met the other day. Justin Bieber. Yeah. That's right. I met _Justin Bieber_. Isn't that, like, the coolest thing?"

"Who the heck is Justin Beaver?" Aria asked.

"Bieber," Nudge said, then sighed. "Before your time. He's a nobody now, but he was sexy as hell back then. Anyways, Josh met him a few years ago and we all had lunch. It was so cool."

I smirked, taking a bite of my hotdog. "For some reason, I don't think I was into Bieber that much."

"Nope," Fang confirmed.

"You're right," Nudge said, smiling at me. "But I got El an autograph."

Ella's face brightened at that news.

"Great," Iggy said. "We can put that right next to my bomb supplies."

"You don't have bomb supplies," Ella said. "I made you throw them out."

"Exactly." Iggy chuckled. "And I didn't throw 'em out. They're just at Gazzy's house."

"What?" Emma demanded.

Gazzy shoved his third hotdog into his mouth to avoid explaining.

"So, El told me you and Max were having another kid," Iggy said, opening a beer. "Like, are you planning on stopping any time soon?"

"Yeah, how many is this now? Ten?"

Fang rolled his eyes, but I froze.

"You're pregnant?" Aria deadpanned, her eyes locked on me.

"_Again_?" Tyler asked incredulously.

Fang looked at me sideways. Uh…

Definitely an awkward situation. Especially since they didn't seemed surprised at all. It wasn't like, _What? Mom and Dad are having another kid? _

More like, _Fuck, how many more siblings are we going to have? _

Suddenly, my phone rang in my pocket. It said Mom.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, honey. I was just calling to tell you about the results from you check up earlier this week."

"Oh, yeah. What about it?"

"You're having twins!"

My jaw dropped. "W-what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything yet, Max," Mom said slowly.

Fang's gaze slid to someone sitting across the fire.

"Not. Funny," I growled. I threw a stick at the Gasman for trying to give me a freaking heart attack. He fell over laughing.

Aria stood up and yanked the phone out of my hand. "How do you have service?" she demanded. "We have the same phone, the same carrier!"

"Aria, give the phone back to me, _now_."

Aria looked at me. She slowly handed the phone back to me.

"So, you were saying?"

"Everything looks good. I think we could set up another one in a couple weeks."

"Okay," I said. "I'll call you later."

As soon as I hung up, Aria grabbed my phone. I rolled my eyes. Whatever. At least she was distracted from the topic of my pregnancy.

After dinner we roasted marshmallows and made the kids s'mores. Aria was still on my phone. She let out an excited squeal.

"Brian wants to hang out on Monday!" she said, smiling at me. I grinned at her, and Fang grunted next me to. I elbowed him.

"Why is that so shocking? Isn't he your boyfriend?" Emma asked, trying to get sticky marshmallow remnants off her fingers.

"Yes," Aria answered. "But _the Devil's Spawn_ over there ruined everything yesterday."

I realized that calling Tyler the Devil's Spawn meant Fang was the devil. I looked at him, smirking. He just shook his head, as if to say, _I get that a lot_.

"Is that why your nose is fucked up?" Iggy asked. "Oh. I mean, messed up."

Fang and I glanced at Alex and Carson, but they were distracted by their s'mores.

"I protected my little sister, like a good brother, and she punched me in the face," Tyler said, shrugging.

"Your mom was the same way," Iggy said. "Except I wouldn't even _do _anything and I'd get punched."

I rolled my eyes. "I bet you provoked me somehow."

Iggy smirked. He knew I was right.

Eventually, it was just the adults, Aiden, Carson and Alex. The older kids had gone to bed. Aiden was asleep in Iggy's lap, Carson was half unconscious and on the ground by Sophie, and Alex was sitting between me and Fang, eating his eighth s'more.

"You're so big, Alex," Ella said from across the fire. "How old are you, now? Ten? Fifteen?"

"I'm five!" he giggled. "I am eleven years littler than Ty and ten years less than Aria! How old is Cassidy?' he asked me curiously.

"Twelve," I said. Then he counted on his fingers and said, "I am seven years less than Cassidy, too!"

"You're so smart," I said.

"I know. I'm gonna be president," Alex said.

"I don't know," I said, wiping his face that was covered in chocolate. "A five year old president?"

"No! When I grow up and get real big!" he said. "Like Dad."

I made a face. "Don't be like him. I can't handle two."

Alex laughed.

"He won't be like Fang, Max," Iggy pointed out. "Alex is _smart_."

Fang hefted Alex up. "Okay, time for bed. Before everyone starts making fun of Dad."

Alex laughed again, struggling. "I'm not tired!"

"Yes, you are. Everyone else is going to bed, too. See?" Fang pointed to Carson and Aiden.

"Fine!" Alex groaned, falling limp in Fang's grip. "Take me away!"

"That kid is a character," Aaron snickered.

I sighed. "You're telling me."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I SHOULD NOT BE UPDATING SINCE I HAVE SOOOOOOO MUCH TO WRITE...**

**Hey guys!**

**Thank you for reviewing, subscribing and favoriting! You guys are totally awesome. Here's the next chapter! **

I groaned, pressing my face into Fang's neck. Our legs were twisted together along with the million blankets piled on top of us. We'd opened both of our sleeping bags and laid them down like a bed, then covered ourselves in quilts. I didn't know about him, but I'd slept _very well_.

"Morning," he murmured in my ear. I could hear his smirk. "Ready to get up?"

I groaned again, lifting my head. It felt like a lot more work than it was. If lifting my head was so hard, getting up and facing the day was going to be freaking impossible.

Fang smirked at me, tightening his arms around my waist.

"Let's stay here a little bit longer," I piped up groggily. "Two minutes."

"Okay," Fang agreed quietly.

I put my head on his chest, closing my eyes.

There was no way it had been more than a minute and thirty seconds when our tent was violently unzipped and the whole freaking campsite poured into our little nest.

Hah. Nest.

Alex and Cassidy fell on Fang and I, shaking us, as if they thought we were asleep. Aria and Tyler were arguing - like, I'm _not _even surprised anymore - about something that probably wouldn't matter to either of them in a few hours. Aaron and Nudge had decided to help the kids get us up.

"Dad! Wake up! Time to go swimming!"

"Good morning sleeping beauty!"

"Tyler broke my hairbrush!"

"No one cares what your hair looks like!"

"Maybe _I _care!"

"Breakfast!"

"Oh, what is _this_? 'Dear Journal-'"

My eyes flew open at Aaron's voice, and so did Fang's. In seconds I was up and had snatched the book out of his hands.

"Out!" I yelled forcefully. Everyone stopped what they were doing and dove out of the tent to avoid the wrath of Max. The kids ran across the clearing towards the lake, probably thinking I was right on their tails. Nudge dove back into her tent, and Aaron walked over to the fire chuckling.

I sighed, looking down at Fang.

He stood up kicked a few blankets out of his way, then went over to his bag. He started dropping his sweats.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed, blushing as I turned around.

"Max, you busted into my shower. I think you've seen pretty much everything."

I shushed him. "Could you not say that so _loud_?"

Fang chuckled. I didn't turn around until he finally said, "I'm fully covered, promise."

I turned around, looking at him cautiously. When I saw he was telling the truth, I said, "Okay. My turn. Get out."

Fang gave me a look. "Seriously?"

"Seriously! Go!"

"Max-"

"_Go_," I demanded. He stared at me for a second before rolling his eyes.

"Whatever," he sighed.

As Fang stepped out and I zipped up the tent, I heard Aaron say, "What's this about shower-busting?"

"Nothing!"

"Max totally checked me out," Fang said smugly.

I gritted my teeth. This man was going to be the death of me.

I got dressed and went outside. It looked like everyone was up but us, which meant all the others had gotten an earful. All the kids, sans Aiden, were down at the lake.

"She has every right to check you out," Nudge said, sitting by the fire that Iggy was trying to build up again with the leftover embers from the night before. For some reason, her words didn't make me feel any better. I sighed and sat down next to her, looking around.

A few seconds after Iggy got the fire going and started cooking something over it, Fang sat by me. He took a bite out of an apple and looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

I snatched his apple out of his hand and took a huge bite out of it, too. He stared at me. I held it up, then threw it across the field. "That's for being a dick about the shower incident."

He gaped at me.

Aria ran up to us, panting for breath. She elbowed Iggy. "Got grub?"

Iggy shook his head. "Sorry, Chicken. Just trying to manage cookin' bacon over an open fire."

Aria leaned over his shoulder. "It don't look so good, Uncle Ig."

"Good thing I can't see it," he said back. Aria rolled her eyes.

"So, like, what are we supposed to eat for breakfast? I'm starving here."

"Eat what you find," Fang said with a glint of humor in his eyes. "I saw a bush of berries over there. Probably edible."

Aria made a face at him, turning to me.

"Uh…" I had no idea what we should eat. All I knew was that I was really hungry, too, and I'd thrown Fang's apple. Now I was regretting that decision.

"It's okay, Ar!" Aaron said, stepping out of his tent. "Your savior was prepared!"

Aria's eyes lit up at the six boxes in Aaron's arms. "Donuts!"

In seconds, the other kids were all standing around, dripping wet and breathing heavy from the run up from the lake.

"Did I hear donuts?"

It was like attack of the starving mutant kids. All of them had wings, I realized, except for Carson. I hadn't been sure Olivia would have wings considering Ella is normal, but she had beautiful pale wings, the color of brown sugar.

Each of the kids ran up, grabbed two or three donuts, then ran off again, in the direction of the lake. There, they sat on the dock and chowed down.

"So," Aaron said, grabbing himself a donut then passing on the boxes, "what's up with that diary?"

I sighed, taking a few glazed donuts for myself. "It's mine. Fang and I were reading it to see if I would remember anything."

In the next second, Iggy, Aaron and Gazzy were all up, pushing and shoving each other, running for our tent. Somehow, Aaron dove into our tent before the other two and resurfaced with my little journal, holding it up like a prize. I glanced warily at Fang. Iggy smacked Aaron on the side of the head.

"Ig, hon," Ella called. "You're acting like a twelve year old again."

"I think Cassidy would take offense to that," Nudge said.

Iggy shook his head, turning to come back to the rest of us _adults_. "You know how long we've wished that we could stumble upon something as juicy as Max's diary? God, El, I've waited my whole life for this."

Ella rolled her eyes. "You can't even read."

Iggy reached her and sat down, carefully taking Aiden from her. He sat Aiden up in his lap and bounced him, looking out over the lake as he spoke. "I know Mom's mean, but she loves us. She just doesn't show it."

Ella sighed.

"We've already read the first three," Fang said to Aaron.

I scooted closer to Fang, nervous. "What if there's something in there that we don't want read out loud?"

Fang shrugged, seeming unconcerned. Probably looking forward to me being made fun of. Asshole.

The only child within earshot was Aiden, who barely understood simple words like _Mom _and _food_. So I wasn't worried about the kids.

I was more afraid of the four men sitting around me.

Like, really afraid.

"Oh, here's entry number four," Aaron said, as if he was surprised to find it _right _after entry number three. Go figure. I flipped him off. "_Dear Journal, I am a very persuasive person_."

Nudge snorted at that one. "No, you don't say?"

"_When I can't persuade someone to do something for me, I get very_ -"

"Cranky?"

"Bitchy?"

"Evil?"

"Scary?"

I stared at the others in shock. Yowch. Aaron shook his head, chuckling. "- _unpleasant._"

Iggy shot a look in my direction, his eyes landed on my right cheek. Close. "You're sugar-coating."

I just laughed, afraid of what was going to come next.

"_Today Tyler is roughly one and a half years old, give or take a few months. He's the best freaking baby in the whole world. He's cried, like, four times. And he sleeps. All. The. Time. He's just perfect. I swear._"

"Don't let him hear that," Sophie said. "That kid's ego is worse than these men put together," she said, motioning to the guys around me. None of them denied it.

"_Our wedding was a week ago, but we never went our on honeymoon because __as soon as we got there__, we got a call that Iggy had nearly killed himself with a stupid bomb thingy and we had to go home. We were so freaked he was gonna die that we had to give up our one weekend away from the entire world to sit in his hospital room. He pulled through, of course. Little bastard._" Aaron was giggling through all of it. He looked up.

"That was so funny. You were pissed, saying Ig did it on purpose so you guys couldn't have a honeymoon. Oh, God."

Everyone else was laughing along with him, probably remembering a lot of shit I didn't.

Aaron went back to the diary. "_I'm just going to give it to you straight _-" Here, he read the next line and choked on his laughter, saying, "_- we haven't had sex in like, two months_."

I put my head in my hands. "Oh, my God."

It was just my luck that Fang and I would read all the boring ones and then Aaron would get the _perverted _entry, complete with a sex-crazed Max. Plus, judging by the fact that the entry said we'd just gotten married, I was also two months pregnant with Aria. So, a sex-crazed pregnant Max.

Cool.

"_I was a fucking dumbass, because I'd told Fang that for two months before we got married, we shouldn't. We should wait so it was special on the our honeymoon. So we did, and we didn't have sex for two months…then, __no honeymoon__. Anyways. That's where the whole persuasion thing comes in. I've been trying to hint at the fact that I wanted to jump Fang's bones without being obvious, but it isn't working so well. Iggy got out of the hospital, in perfect shape and all, but he's supposed to take it easy. So, Ig, Aaron, Fang, Holden and Gaz are all sitting in the living room, watching the baseball game. And I've just been waiting all week for Fang to screw me and he hasn't yet_."

Fang started chuckling under his breath. I shoved him. He just laughed some more, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "I know what this is," he whispered in my ear. That did not console me one bit.

"_By the time three PM rolls around_," Aaron continued, still smirking, "_I am totally fed up, you know? The girls are all out, and since Fang and I haven't moved out yet, this is going to be our best chance to kick everyone out and get down to business. So I go downstairs, stand by the TV, and wait for one of the boneheads to notice me standing there_."

"Trust me," Aaron said, smirking knowingly at me. "We notice you in a second."

I groaned.

"_Finally, Fang looks at me and asks what's up. I try to silently tell him that I want to have sex without saying, __I want to have sex__. He's a stupid man though, so he doesn't get the message. I'm sure half his brain is still focused on the game, anyways. I say, 'Ty's down for his nap.' Fang nods, opening a beer and handing it to Iggy. For real, should the guy even be drinking in his state?_"

Gazzy finally seemed to realize what the story was. He sat up, laughing a bit. "Oh, man. I remember this."

"_I keep trying to hint that I want the boys out of the house, but none of them seem to catch on. If they do, they ignore me. Finally, Aaron says, 'Damn, Max, just spit it out. Could you be a little more clear?' I stomp over to the TV, turn it off, and turn around. I mean, Jesus. I had tried being nice. I say, 'Clarify, huh? Fine. If my husband does not come upstairs and have sex with me until I'm satisfied, I'm filing for divorce!'_"

My jaw dropped. Iggy and Gazzy busted into laughter, Aaron was wheezing, trying to read through his laughter. Fang's body shook with silent laughter against me, and I elbowed him. Ella's eyes widened at me in shock, as if I'd just done this in front of her. Nudge just rolled her eyes, putting her head on Josh's shoulder. Sophie looked like she'd already heard about it, unfortunately.

"You did not say that," Ella said.

"She did!" Gazzy panted through his laughter. Emma thumped him, telling him to chill. "Oh, she did."

"_The five of them just stare at me in shock, for the longest time. Then Fang jumps up, eyes wide, and starts to pull me upstairs. The other four just sit on the couch, still staring at me in shock. Poor little Gazzy actually looks kind of scarred. I say, 'Well? Are you gonna leave?' They of them just stare and stare and stare. So I walk over to the TV and turn it up really loud. Then Fang and I go upstairs. I don't even know if they left, really. I do know that I am not going to write about __anything__ that went on in our bedroom, because I have this feeling that Iggy or Aaron or God forbid Fang himself with find this and have blackmail against me for the rest of my life._"

I breathed out in relief. At least I'd had a little common sense.

"_I will not be filing for divorce. Anytime soon._"

"Enough reading for one day!" I said loudly, snatching the journal away from Aaron.

He rolled his eyes. "You guys must be having fun reading that. A journal in horny Max's perspective."

"The whole thing is not like that!" I hissed. I walked over to our tent and threw it in, zipping the door closed with finality. No more reading of that one. And I needed to make sure none of the kids got a hold of that. Sheesh.

"I found a frog!" Alex ran up to us, his hands closed around something. Which I assume to be the frog.

Just as he reached me and opened his hands to show me the little thing, it hopped out of his hands and landed on Nudge. She squeaked in surprise, hitting it off her lap. Alex gasped and started after it, crying "Come back!"

Then he fell. Fortunately, he caught himself with his hands.

Unfortunately, one of his hands landed right in the hot, burning embers of the fire Iggy had built. He laid there for a moment in silence as the flames licked his skin and traveled up his arm.

"Alex!" I barely had time to gasp before I'd scooped him up and brought him close to my chest. Fang quickly threw open one of the coolers and grabbed a handful of ice, leaning over to cup Alex's hand in the ice in order to stop any blistering.

Alex giggled. "Daddy, that's cold!"

I gaped at our son, then slowly pushed Fang's hands away. Fang let the ice in his hands fall into the grass. I looked up at Fang, shocked.

Fang tentatively grabbed Alex's arm and examined it. There wasn't a burn or blister in sight. His arm was fine.

Gazzy shot to his feet, a grin on his face. "He's _flame resistant_!"

Gazzy jerked Alex out of my arms and threw him up on his shoulders. "You, me and Ig, little man. We're gonna be the three musketeers! Of all things fire and bombs, of course."

Fang and I stared at each other in shock.

Guess we knew what Alex's power was.

**A/n: ****Tell me - **

**Which kid is your favorite? **

**Which kid's power is your favorite? **

**What do you want to see in the next few chapters? **

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**Review for: A new memory and a Fax-filled cave scene!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm not sick anymore! But…the fact that I went to Six Flags the day after my fever went down resorted in me getting an awesome freaking tan and losing my voice. So I am reduced to texting or typing everything I want to say. Woohoo. **

**Thank you sooooooooooooo much for all the incredible reviews…you guys wow me. Like, constantly. Keep it up, and go check out my news stories! **_**Tonight **_**is ****over****, I just put up the epilogue… (:**

**Oh, and the next chapter for **_**That Moment When **_**is coming soon. I also have a hidden chapter from **_**Fang **_**to upload… EXCITING.**

**Here's chapter…I can't even remember. This is going by too fast! Fourteen? Yeah? Here's chapter fourteen!**

"Oh, my God! Gazzy!" Nudge screeched. Fang and I turned to see the Gasman holding a lighter under Alex's foot. The flames were dancing around Alex's toes but seemed to be doing no damage.

"Fang, check this out, man! The kid's indestructible!"

"If you light my son on fire one more time, I will light _you _on fire," I called threateningly.

Gazzy dropped the lighter and patted Alex's head, giving me a simultaneous thumbs up. "Message received!"

I rolled my eyes.

Nudge still looked shock, her eyes wide with fear. "I think it's going to take a while to get used to that," she said. I nodded in agreement. Seeing Alex play with fire would probably always give me a heart attack, regardless of his power.

"When can we go home?" Cassidy mumbled, smacking her arm. "I'm getting mosquito bites left and right."

"After dinner," Fang said. "Help Ig cook and we'll get out of here even faster."

Cassidy wandered over to Iggy and began helping him. The other kids all followed.

"Wow," I said, leaning into Fang's chest. "No lecture on why being outdoors build character and why our children should be thankful for Mother Nature?"

Fang rolled his eyes, looking over towards everyone else. They were all sitting around the fire. After finding out that Alex was fire-proof, the day had flown by. Now it was about three, and we were going to eat an early dinner then all head home since everyone had school and work tomorrow.

Fang grabbed my wrist. "They're all distracted. Now no one is going to notice if we sneak off." His voice was low and rumbly in my ear, making my stomach flutter. I looked at him, and he shot me a grin while pulling me into the trees, farther and farther away from camp.

"Sneak off?" I squeaked. What could this man possibly have in store for me now?

"We do it all the time," he breathed. "More when we were kids, I admit. But still, we escape parent life _sometimes_."

"We escape parent life…for what?"

Fang smirked as we stepped into a small clearing that was barely big enough for the two of us. I couldn't see or hear the others anymore.

"Max-and-Fang life," he said softly.

Then he took off into the air. I sighed and decided to follow him, only momentarily hesitating and wondering if I could take off without a running start. I managed, lifting myself up into the air rather skillfully. When I surfaced from the treetops, I could see Fang, hovering a few thousand feet away.

_You coming? _

I rolled my eyes, pouring on the super speed, and in three seconds I had passed him up and gained a few thousand feet ahead myself. I turned back and smirked.

_I could ask you the same thing. _

Fang flew over to me, rolling his eyes. "How cliché, Max. Come on. I'll show you our spot."

Our spot?

I flew behind him, following him towards the mountains. He swooped lower and lower, closer to the side of the cliff, and just when I thought he'd smack into the rock, he disappeared. Uh, whaa…?

When I flew a bit more to the left, I saw it. A practically invisible cave entrance. I pulled my wings in carefully and landed in the entrance. Fang came over to me and wrapped his arms around my stomach from behind, moving his lips to my ear.

"Remember this place?" he whispered in my ear.

I rested my hands on Fang's that were on my belly and looked around, hoping it would stir up some kind of memory for me. It was dark and damp in the cave. Most of the light was blocked because the entrance was so narrow. The place felt foreign to me.

I shook my head, wanting to cry. By the sound of Fang's voice, this was an important place to him. _Our spot_. I didn't even recognize it.

Fang kept his arms around me and walked me a bit further into the cave. He sat me down on a cool, large rock that had a flat surface. I shivered as he sat by me.

"Now?" he murmured, his lips brushing my neck. His lips were warm against my skin, igniting something inside me. I gripped his arm, nodding carefully. And suddenly, I _was _remembering.

"_Hey," Fang said, landing softly in the entrance to our cave. I looked up at him from where I sat on the biggest rock in our little cave, the one that was long and flat, like a table. _

"_Hi," I mumbled. _

"_Leaving a note would've been great," Fang said, sitting down beside me. "I mean, it would've saved me from a heart attack." _

"_You knew where I was," I said. _

"_What's wrong?" _

"What do you see, Max?" Fang murmured in the present, his mouth on my collarbone.

"_Fang," I said quietly, my voice nervous and shaky, "will you do something for me?" _

"_What?" he asked, his eyebrows drawing together with worry. _

"_Will you check me? My…neck?" _

_Fang leaned forward, grabbing my chin. "You're freaking me out, Max. What's going on?" _

"We're here," I said, running my hand over the smooth rock we were sitting on. It was hard for me to talk, what with his lips running up and down my throat like that. Jesus. "I'm making you check my neck for something…"

"_I don't know, okay? Please just do it." _

_Fang gave me a serious look, then made me turn so my back was to him. I felt his fingers brush against my neck as he pushed my hair over my shoulder. He exhaled, kissing my neck and leaving goose bumps on my skin everywhere. _

"_Fuck, Max," he whispered. "What kind of sick joke was that? I was seriously freaked out for a second there." _

_I slowly let out a long breath. "Nothing?" _

"_Nothing," he murmured. He pulled me back into his lap and I closed my eyes. "Why do you think you're dying?"_

"_I wasn't going to tell you, because I wasn't sure what was going on. I thought I'd just eaten something bad. But it won't stop, and I figured if I was falling apart, maybe my body was shutting down or something."_

_He kissed my cheek, gently rocking me. I was sitting between his legs, resting my head on his chest. "What won't stop?" _

"_I keep getting sick," I mumbled, letting his warmth relax me. _

"_How many times so far?" _

"_Four," I breathed. "I don't know what's wrong with me."_

_Fang tugged on my arm, making me turn around. I sat in his lap, facing him, my forehead pressed against his. _

"_Max, do you think…maybe you're pregnant?" he asked, gently brushing my hair back. _

_My eyes shot open at that. No, I hadn't. I hadn't thought about that at all. But the more I thought about it now, the more it started to add up in my head. _

"_Oh, my God," I whispered. "Do you think?"_

"_Makes sense." _

"_But we use protection," I said softly. _

"_Sometimes," Fang said realistically, giving me a look. _

_Okay, I had to admit that was true. _

_Fang sighed. "Let's wait a week, see what happens. If you're still getting sick…"_

_I nodded. Then I looked up at him. "Fang, if I am…" I trailed off. _

"_There are options," Fang whispered. _

"_No," I said, almost in shock. "No! Are you kidding? I can't…get an abortion." I couldn't believe he'd even _said _that. We loved each other. It shouldn't have to matter how old we were if we loved each other…right? _

"_I just didn't want you to-"_

"_I can't do that. I can't kill our kid just because we screwed up and got pregnant a few years early. Kill our baby, just to have a different one a few years down the road?"_

"_I don't want you to, either," Fang insisted. _

"_Good. Because I won't," I said. _

"_We don't know anything for sure," Fang reminded me. _

"_Right," I said. "Could be stress. Or…a stomach bug or something."_

_Fang held me tight, nodding. "Right." _

I turned to look at him.

"That was a week before we found out we were having Tyler," Fang said. He looked around. "We used to come here a lot back then. In high school."

I shivered, pressing my arm against his.

"We found this place a few weeks after you guys saved me from Evelyn," he said softly. "No one else knew about it. We'd come here and talk." Then, Fang turned to me again and grinned, leaning close. "Sometimes we wouldn't talk at all."

His mouth landed on mine and I gasped. My fingers moved up into his hair and I felt his arms go around my waist. I pulled away to breathe, whispering against his cheek, "Uh, is this going to be one of those times?"

I wasn't sure if I was ready for that.

Fang kissed my neck and my jaw. "If this was one of those times, you'd know."

Oh, hell, I'd know. I groaned and pulled him closer. What was it about him that was so irresistible? I pushed my lips up to his, wrapping my arms around his neck. He kissed me deeply, almost dizzyingly. I was gasping for breath in seconds.

"Should we go back?" Fang murmured after a few minutes, stroking my back gently.

"Not yet," I whispered. He chuckled, a sound that made my entire body react in ways I'd never felt before. I clung to him like he was my one and only life source, and our mouths smashed together again with more need than before. The feeling, the passion, was overwhelming. I remembered another time, before we had the kids…

"_It's freezing in here," I muttered against Fang's skin as he helped me take off his shirt. _

"_It's a cave, of course it's cold," he breathed, kissing me. His shirt landed next to mine on the cave floor. "I told you I'd carry blankets up here for you."_

"_Don't need blankets," I said, smirking. Fang read my mind. He hovered over me, extended his wings, and wrapped them around us both. _

"Fang," I gasped. I had one hand on the back of his neck, the other pressed to his chest. "_What _are you doing to me?"

Fang groaned, planting a few more short kisses on my mouth. "I was about to ask you the same thing, sweetheart."

I panted, letting my head fall back against the rock we were laying on. "It's not fair…"

"What?" he breathed, entwining our fingers.

"The effect you have on me. I'm a hot mess," I said, trying to catch my breath and get a hold of myself.

Fang chuckled, letting his teeth scraped my neck. "Hardly my fault, but I'm not complaining."

He pushed my hair from my face, pulling up my chin. His lips descended on mine and it was a slow, languid kiss. His mouth opened against mine and I sighed, letting him deepen the kiss and take control.

_We have four kids, _I thought,_ and yet here we are, sneaking away to make out in a cave. _

Fang smirked against my mouth. _Some things never change_.

**A/N: ****Please review, guys!**


	15. Chapter 15

Aria was the first one in the house. She dropped her duffle on the floor in the living room and went up the stairs. "Can't wait to get in the shower, my hair is a tangled mess…"

Tyler collapsed on the couch. "Home sweet home. It feels good to be back. I almost forgot what our couch feels like…"

"We were gone for two days," I deadpanned. Tyler just shrugged as he curled up against one of the throw pillows. He looked ridiculous. But I think it's in the parent handbook to love them no matter how much of an eye sore they are…

Cassidy dragged herself into the doorway, moaning, "Do we _have _to go to school tomorrow?"

"Yes," I said, pushing her hair back.

She groaned loudly.

Fang came in last, a conked-out Alex in one hand and a black bag in the other.

"This kid's getting heavy," Fang grunted.

"Here," I said, holding my arms out. Fang dropped him into my hands and I carried him up to his room. I dropped him on top of his blankets, deciding to let him sleep until I could wrangle him into the bath without a fuss. As I backed out of his bedroom, I bumped into Fang.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he sighed, kissing my forehead. "So, on Wednesday, there's this thing, at the office-"

"I want to go to work tomorrow."

Fang stopped, looking down at me in surprise. "Max, I don't know if-"

"I wasn't asking for your permission, I was just telling you," I clarified.

Fang rolled his eyes. "Of _course _you were. I'm not going to stop you. You sure?"

"Better than sitting around the house all day," I said.

Fang had to admit that was true. "Okay. Don't stress yourself out."

I waved my hand at him dismissively. "On Wednesday…?" I started for him.

He smiled at me. "Office party at work. I want you to come with me. I'm supposed to bring the kids, too, but I think maybe just Tyler and Aria, if they'll even behave."

"Okay," I said, smiling back at him. "But I'm not wearing a dress."

"_I _could've told you that."

I smirked and walked past him toward the bedroom.

"Hey," he said, falling into step behind me. "If you go back to work, I think you should bring this."

I looked at him curiously. He brushed past me into our bedroom.

"The year we had Tyler, we started getting each other gag gifts for Christmas. This is the first one I got you. I figure if the students think they can undermine the amnesia-ridden Coach, you can just blow this thing," he said. He pulled a whistle out of a drawer in the table by our bed. It still had a small note attached to it that said:

_Max, _

_Practice blowing _

_-F_

That's harsh.

"Ouch," I mumbled. Fang grinned at me.

"Yours was worse," he said.

"What was mine?" I asked. I highly doubted it could be _worse_.

Fang gave me a look.

"A take-home paternity test."

• • •

My first day of work was surprisingly easy. Like, easy as pie. I mean, it wasn't like I was teaching trig or anything, but it wasn't bad at all. And, I learned that Aria was in my third hour class.

Anyways, by the time the bell rang, I was ready to get the hell out of there. Cassidy and Alex's school dismissed ten minutes after the high school, so I was immediately on my way out the door when my last class had all dispersed. I made my way out of the gym and down the hall to where my office was. I grabbed my bag, flipped off the lights, and was on my way out of the building when the intercom said, "Would Mrs. Ride please come to the office? Mrs. Ride?"

I sighed and turned on my heel. Perfect. I wasn't even a student, and I was getting called to the office on my first day. Wth.

Where the hell was the office, again?

As I turned around, I spotted Tyler standing next to a girl with wavy brown hair. She smiled and waved at me.

"Hey! Mrs. R!"

Tyler saw my look of uncertainty and closed the locker they were standing in front of before coming over to stand before me. "Mom, this is my girlfriend, Brittany."

"Hi, Brittany."

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Good, actually-"

"We're gonna go get something to eat, okay?" Tyler asked. I looked at him.

"Wait, I need to know where the office is."

Tyler's shoulders drooped as he looked at me. Probably just angry at me for slowin' him down. "Seriously?"

I just raised my eyebrows at him.

"Mom," he sighed.

Brittany nudged his arm, hard. "C'mon, Mrs. R. I'll show you."

"Thanks. Tyler, you could learn a thing or two from your girlfriend."

"I tell him that all the time," Brittany grinned, pulling me down the hall. Tyler followed us.

"Here ya go, Mom," Tyler said, pointing a bit down the hall at what I assumed was the office door. "Okay. We're gonna go, now."

"Wait, how are you getting there?" I asked. "You don't have a car."

"We're going with some friends," Brittany said.

Oh. "Bye, be safe," I called as Brittany and Tyler deserted me in the now-empty hallway. I sighed and pushed my way into the office, not sure what to expect.

Dr. Jameson's secretary, whom I'd met that morning, greeted me. "Go on in."

I knocked lightly on Jameson's door before pushing into his office. He was sitting at his desk. Now, when Aria had said that the principle had the hots for me, I'd imagined a gross, smelly old guy with a receding hairline and greasy smile.

Really, Dr. Jameson was tall and handsome. He wasn't too old, maybe a few years older than I was. He had light brown hair. His first name was Michael.

"Hello, Max," he said, smiling brightly at me. I forced a smile and sat down.

"What's up?" I asked. Which, now that I think about it, was pretty unprofessional. But hey. I kind of needed to pick up my kids…

"I wanted to speak with you about Aria," he said slowly. "It seems she skipped class this afternoon."

I stared at him. That couldn't be right. "But she was _in _my class," I said. "I saw her."

"Yes, she has gym third hour. But her fourth hour teacher says she never showed up for class. Her fifth, sixth and seventh hour teachers said the same."

"Shit."

"Uh…" He seemed at a loss for words. Is cursing unprofessional? Shit. He folded his hands on his desk, his mouth breaking into a smile again. "Max?"

I groaned. Why was it always _Aria_? And here I'd thought my first day was going to be a breeze. I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. Why couldn't anything ever go _right_?

"Max, listen. I know there's a lot going on at home right now, what with your memory loss and all," he said. Yeah, like the fact that my kids apparently weren't disciplined at _all_. "Between you and me, I won't penalize Aria for skipping class. Her individual teachers might assign detention, but I won't take further action. As long as you don't mind taking it into your own hands," he finished, smiling at me. "Which I'm sure you don't mind at _all_."

I ignored the tone in his voice.

"Trust me, she's in for it," I said, relieved. "Thank you."

"Of course, Max. I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded.

Aria was so going to get it…

I made my way out to the teacher's parking lot. I was already a few minutes late from picking up Cass and Alex. I hoped they weren't freaking out on me or anything. Jeez. I started walking faster, trying to remember where I parked my vehicle.

When I finally found it, I froze in my tracks.

"What are _you _doing here, Dylan?"

Yes, universe. Please send me every possible problem you can think of. As if my life is not hard enough already!

Breathe.

He was leaning back on the door of the van, his arms crossed. When he heard me he looked up, a smile forming on his face.

"You remembered my name," he said, as if I'd just told him he was the love of my life.

I sighed. "I don't know why you keep following me around, but you need to leave me alone," I said.

He shook his head. "Max, you don't mean that."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yes, Dylan. I do."

"No. No, you don't know what you're talking about Max. There's still so much you don't know."

He was just downright infuriating me now. I mean, not only was he a fucking _stalker_, but he was talking down to me, like I was a baby. I frowned at him.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go pick up my children from school."

"Yes," Dylan said, eyeing me. "Cassidy and Alex. I'm sure they're waiting for you."

The fact that he knew my kids' names made my skin crawl. Why did he know so much about me?

"We'll talk again soon," he said, the glint in his eyes making me grit my teeth. "Goodbye, Max."

Still feeling uncomfortable, I watched him disappear completely from my line of vision before getting into the van and locking it for good measure. I buckled my seatbelt and sighed, leaning my head on the steering wheel.

First Aria, now this.

I just wanted to get home.

**A/N: ****Mega, MEGA drama in the next chapter…Plus a Fang/Aria bonding moment! Review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Fang parked the car in the driveway and turned it off, unbuckling himself. The high school had just let out, so he knew soon the house would be in chaos. He walked into the kitchen, undid his tie, and looked in the freezer for something to start for dinner. He decided on steak. Pulling it out and setting it in the refrigerator so it would thaw a bit, he grabbed himself a soda and started flipping through the final spreads for the next day's paper.

With all of the family stuff going on, it had been hard to focus on work for the past week. He felt a little better, since Max seemed to be slowly forming back into her normal self, but the fear of what had really happened to her and why she couldn't remember anything still hung over him like a cloud. Aaron had said that there was nothing new for them to go on. Frankly, the only way they'd solve the case was if Max suddenly remembered what happened. It didn't look like that was going to happen anytime soon.

Fang sighed. He grabbed the spreadsheets and his can of root beer and heading into the living room. As soon as he sat down on the couch, the front door flew open. When he saw it was his daughter, looking flustered and upset, he sat up straight. She'd only gotten out of school a few minutes ago, and she was supposed to have plans with Brian.

"Aria, how-"

She slammed the front door closed behind her.

"Dad?" It came out broken and shaky.

"What? What?" he asked. Something was really, really wrong. He felt worry settle in his stomach like a weight. Now that he really looked at her, she was a mess. She was crying, and her hair was falling out her of her ponytail. She never let herself go anywhere without looking absolutely perfect - so why was she so broken?

"Dad, have you ever done anything really stupid?" she managed thickly.

Fang thought for a second.

Well, yes. There was that time that he left Max because she wanted Ari to stay with the flock. Or that time that he left her because Dylan told him to. Oh, and there was always that time that he left her to go to the baseball game with Aaron. And the time he knocked Max up before graduation…

Fang looked at his daughter. She looked so much like him, yet so much like Max. Especially when she was upset. She totally resembled Max was she was upset. Fang felt himself getting nervous.

"What did you do?" Fang immediately demanded. His mind jumped to conclusions like stealing or trespassing or the ever-popular fighting. Aria just shook her head.

"N-no, Dad…have you ever done something _everyone _told you not to?"

That was when Fang realized it wasn't about breaking the law.

It was about Brian.

"Aria-"

"I was s-so stupid," she cried, and she walked across the room and fell against him. Aria buried her head into Fang's shoulder and he hugged her, stroking her hair. "I just thought…because he said he l-loved me…but he…"

Fang wasn't really catching too many details through his daughter's sobbing, which he was okay with. He didn't need to know the details. He just needed to know that in the end, Aria was alright. And he needed Aria to know that Fang was always there for her.

"Shh," he whispered. He realized that this was the first time his daughter had hugged him willingly in _months_. He held her tight. "Aria, it's okay."

"You tried to tell me," she whimpered into his neck. "I j-just didn't want to listen t-to you."

Fang's heart gave a squeeze at that. He had tried to warn her about Brian. And Aria had been set on breaking all Fang's rules just to hurt him. Now it had ended up backfiring and hurting her instead. Fang hated it. He never wanted Aria to cry. He never wanted her to regret anything, especially something as important as _this_.

"It's okay, Aria," Fang murmured, rubbing her back. "I promise it'll all be okay."

"I just f-feel like I've let everyone d-down," she sobbed. "You and Mom are always disappointed with me…and Brian didn't l-love me enough to stay…"

"Brian is a piece of shit," Fang blurted, still holding her.

Aria sat back on her heels, looking at him through watering eyes. "Dad…"

But…she had loved him.

Fang sighed.

"I know," he said. "I know, Ar."

He pulled her back into his arms.

"I'm sorry," Fang whispered. He wished he could be there for her to protect her from everything. He wished he could do it for all his kids. But he couldn't, and they would all go through heartbreak and pain eventually. "I promise it isn't the end of the world. I know it hurts, but it'll be okay."

"H-how would y-you know?" Aria mumbled dejectedly. "You and Mom never-"

"Mom and I broke up when we were your age," Fang said. "I left her, left the whole flock. And you know who I left them for?"

"Who?" she mumbled.

"Your mom's clone."

"What?" Aria asked in shock. "A clone? Like, exact same DNA?"

Fang nodded. "We were both hurt for a really long time. But it always works out in the end."

Aria rested her head back on his shoulder. "I was right. You _are _an ass."

Fang was going to let it slide just this once.

"I'll kick his ass," Fang whispered finally, once Aria had calmed down and was just hiccupping. She shook her head into his chest.

"I just hate myself right now," she whispered.

Fang sighed. "Well, guess what?"

"What?" she mumbled.

"No matter how much _you _hate yourself, I never will. I love you, Aria."

"Thanks, Dad," she breathed.

The door flew open. Cassidy and Alex came in, chattering about school. Max stood behind them. When her eyes landed on Fang and Aria, she gritted her teeth.

"_Aria Valencia Ride_," she ground out.

Fang took a moment to notice that Max had subconsciously remembered Aria's middle name. Cassidy noticed that that was Max's angry voice and told Alex to go with her upstairs.

"_Why _did Dr. Jameson call me to the office today, only to tell me that my daughter _skipped school _after my class?"

Fang gave Max a _tread lightly, our daughter is in shambles _look. Max glanced between the two of them, then seemed to realize how odd this situation was.

"You're hugging each other," she stated in surprise.

Aria sat up and wiped her eyes, but Fang continued rubbing her back.

Max sighed. "What happened?"

• • •

I slowly closed Aria's bedroom door and went downstairs into the kitchen.

"There, now just put it in that bowl, just like that," Fang helped Alex mix the ingredients to whatever it was they were making and handed him a whisk. "Here ya go, Chef Alex. Stir it up."

Alex saluted Fang like a tiny soldier before going to work. Fang turned to me. I smiled at him, sighing, and leaned back against the counter.

"How is she?" he asked nervously.

"Okay," I mumbled. "Really hurt. Confused. She's just a kid. She shouldn't have to be dealing with this drama."

"I know," Fang breathed. "Feels like they'll never be old enough to deal with it. I barely feel old enough to deal with it."

"Oh, because there's so much hurt and confusion that comes with our relationship?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Fang smirked at me. "Sometimes."

"She skipped school with Brian. She didn't tell me where they went."

Fang pulled me close and I put my head on his chest, sighing. "She said it didn't mean anything to him. He just left."

Fang kissed my head. "I'm gonna go castrate him, then it'll mean something to him."

"Fang," I whispered.

Fang suddenly said, "Alex, don't stick your hands in the batter!"

"What're you two making, anyways?" I asked, letting go of him.

"Chocolate cake," Fang said, taking the whisk from Alex and stirring the batter for a few minutes. "Aria's favorite."

"Daddy, can I lick the-"

Fang answered by sticking the whisk in Alex's hand then picking him up and setting him on the kitchen island. Alex then started licking the chocolate batter off the whisk, managing to cover his entire face in the process.

Fang poured the cake batter into a pan, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then moved toward me to get to the sink. He smeared the spatula across my cheek as he passed.

I gasped, staring at him in shock.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "Didn't see you there."

It was so on.

I yanked the bowl out of his hands and slammed it down on his head, letting all the excess batter in the bowl smear into his gorgeous black hair.

"Oops, sorry. Didn't see you there," I smirked, wiping the batter off my cheek and wiping it on his black shirt.

He slowly pulled the bowl off his head. Alex was giggling like crazy behind him.

"Alex," Fang said quietly as he set the bowl in the sink, "do you know what happens when someone tries to one-up Dad?"

"Uh-oh!"

"Uh-oh is right," Fang said. Then he stepped past me and scooped up a handful of batter from the pan.

"Fang, _don't _put your hand in the batter!" I mocked.

Then he hurled the handful of cake batter at me. It hit me in the face.

"_Fang_!"

"What?" he asked calmly.

I swiped my hand down my face, letting the cake batter fall to the ground. I licked my lips.

"Alex, you might want to go upstairs. I'm going to beat your father and there will be blood."

Alex giggled as he climbed down from the top of the counter and ran out of the room.

Fang raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh, no," he said, leaning against the counter. "What are you going to do to me?"

I glared at him and slowly stepped closer. When I reached him, I grabbed his hand that was still covered in batter and lifted it to my face. I knew _just _how to get him back.

Before I could chicken out, I licked the batter right off his hand, from his wrist all the way to the tip of his finger.

Fangs stared at me the entire time, like he couldn't believe I was doing it. _I _couldn't believe I was doing it. He literally had me eating out of the palm of his hand. I dropped his hand, grinning.

"Fuck, Max," he exhaled, turning to rinse his hand off in the sink. "You're the devil."

I smirked and put the cake in the oven.

"How do you set the timer?" I asked.

Fang turned off the sink. "Step away from the stove, Mrs. Ride. Before you blow us all up." He threw the towel he was drying his hands with at my head. I used it to wipe my face clean of any lingering batter, then checked my face in the microwave door. All clear.

"I don't think I'm going to blow up the kitchen by setting the timer on the stove," I reasoned.

"We aren't taking any chances today," Fang said.

I rolled my eyes. "You still have cake batter in your hair."

He sighed. "You're right. Want to help me wash it out?"

Fuck yeah I did.

"I think you can manage it alone."

Fang grinned down at me. "I had to try."

I rolled my eyes.

"Don't touch anything in the kitchen without supervision!" Fang called as he walked upstairs. I sighed and went down the hall into Fang's study. I started to scan his books for a few minutes until I heard the front door open and close. Then there was a lot of commotion in the living room.

I walked into the living room to find Tyler with a few other teenagers. One of them was Brittany. She was currently sitting on her knees next to him on the couch, batting her eyes at him.

"Omigod, Tyler, you're dad is _so _hot. Can you, like, introduce me?" she said in a high-pitched, girly voice.

"Really flattering, Brittany," I heard from behind me. I turned around and saw Fang dressed in a new black ensemble, his hair wet and tousled. "But I'm taken."

Brittany blanched as she heard Fang and spun around completely, blushing nervously.

"Hey, Mr. R…uh, I was just mimicking this girl at school. Well, a lot of girls, actually."

I glanced at Fang, raising an eyebrow. One of the boys in the living said, "Don't worry, Mrs. Ride. A lot of teenage guys want you, too."

Uh…Right. Because I was totally feeling left out. I blushed.

"Okay, Mom," Tyler said, sitting up. "That one with the big mouth is Wade, and he only says _a lot _of teenage guys because he's one of them-"

"Shut up!" Wade threw one of the throw pillows at Tyler and it hit him in the face.

"-the blonde over there is Matthew-"

The blonde kid waved at me. I awkwardly raised my hand in response.

"-and the girl next to him is his girlfriend, Rachel."

"So, are you all staying for dinner?" I asked.

"No, but thanks," Rachel said. "Actually, I'm supposed to be getting home…"

She trailed off, looking at the other two boys.

"Well?" Wade asked. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"You drove!"

"Well, I didn't know I was driving you home, too. Sheesh. Guess we gotta scram."

Tyler looked at Brittany, who was still sitting beside him. "Want to stay? I'll take you home later."

"Okay," she said. "If that's cool with your parents."

Fang just shrugged, going into the kitchen to check on dinner. Brittany turned to me. I smirked.

"As long as you don't make a move on my man."

Brittany grinned. "Deal."

**A/N: ****If any of you hate Aria, you're about to start loving her. Really soon.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: fangsallmine1123 uploads allllllllll the documents. **

**Finally, right? I just updated **_**That Moment When **_**for the first time in for-ev-er AND I put up a new hidden chapter (from **_**Fang **_**this time, hurray!) AND I UPDATED CONSEQUENCES TWICE, so y'all technically owe me two reviews. (:**

**Plus, save the dates, bros. I hereby announce that I will have a new AU/AH story by September 21, 2013. Which is exactly twelve weeks from today. Exciting! There will be a little tiny spoiler/excerpt from that at the end of this story, after the epilogue. I am, like so super excited because I've been working on this story FOREVER and trust me when I say**

**YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THIS PLOT BEFORE EVER. **

**Anyone excited? **

**Omg. Go see Now You See Me, that movie about the magicians who rob banks? It's effing incredible, along with a PERFECT cast. Then, go see Monsters University. Also PERFECT. Nathan Fillion is in it! Eeeeeeeek, fan girl moment. **

**Thanks a million for all the awesome reviews. Like, seriously. I read each and every one, and if I had time (but who has that, I mean really) I would reply to each and every one. If you want me to reply, be like, YO, PM BEYOTCH. **

**I will. A few of you know that already. Then we can talk about all kinds of cool stuff. **

**Anyways, I love Amy Schumer. I think she may be my role model, like, one day I want to be as effing hilarious as she is. **

**One FANTABULOUS review I got for chapter 16, courtesy of Person: "Ha! Root beer is my favorite soda. Fang drinks root beer. Fang writes the newspaper. I read the newspaper. We would be best bros."**

**Like, at least someone got the meaning of that chapter. **

**A few other AMAZING people are: Guest (all of you!), Person, Claire (I know, right?), Bunny lover, 3ThingsWithWings, FlowerChild22, Flygrrl (Gracias, amiga), Resisting-Moonlight, pancakes-for-you, Kati Kitty, DoomedToBeACrazyFanGirlForever, AinsleyWright, I 3 1D. PJ. MR, greysky3, awesomealpha11, blueskies, Kalico37, Elemental Dragon Slayer, KaiAmazonKnightley, TotallyME23, jetthedog (no matter how many times I write your name, my computer immediately changes it to 'jetted'…wtf?), PolkadottedPandas (I just realized how FUCKING AWESOME it would be if your name was a real thing…mind blown) and MANY MORE. Guys, this is awesome. **

**Read on!**

When Tyler woke up on Tuesday, he realized a few things straight away.

One, he'd never gotten up to go to bed. He was still laying on the couch. He didn't really mind because frankly the couch was comfier than his bed, anyways. And he had a memory foam mattress.

Two, Brittany had never gone home. She was still laying on _him_.

Tyler groaned. He remembered sitting down with her to watch a movie after his parents had gone to bed. Tyler had said he would drive her home when the movie was finished. They must've fallen asleep…

"Britt," Tyler groaned. He didn't want to be rude, but they really needed to wake up. He started rubbing her back. They had school, plus she'd missed curfew by, eh, six hours? "Britt?"

He glanced across the room. The digital clock on the TV console said it was almost six. School started at seven fifteen.

"Brittany, get up," Tyler whispered. It was still dark in the house, and no one else seemed to be awake yet.

"Hmm?" she groaned, finally showing signs of life. He just kept rubbing her back, waiting for her to come to full consciousness and realize where she was.

"What time is it?" she mumbled into his chest. "Is the movie over?"

"Uh, yeah."

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, then squinted across the room at the little digital clock.

"Oh, my God, Tyler!"

He just snickered. She looked kind of adorable when she was freaking out. He didn't see her freak out much, since Brittany was a pretty laid back girl most of the time. That was partly why she was attracted to her. They'd met freshmen year, and they'd always hung out a lot with all their friends. With a psycho like his mother and a drama-queen sister like Aria, not to mention the crazy ball of energy they called Cassidy, it was really refreshing to have such a carefree girl around. Especially since Brittany and him just meshed together and have stayed together ever since.

"It isn't funny!" she whispered, smacking his arm. "Your parents are gonna kill us-" then her face paled at a new realization "- _my _parents are gonna kill us!" She fumbled for her cell phone, groaning when the screen lit up her face with artificial light. "I have thirteen missed calls…"

"It's not like we did anything bad, Britt."

"Staying out past curfew until _six in the morning _on a school night is bad, Ty!"

"Would it kill you to have a little fun for once?" Tyler countered. He had to force himself not to laugh. Usually he was the one lecturing her on right and wrong.

Brittany clamped her mouth shut and glared at him. He smiled. "Calm down. It's gonna be fine."

"Yeah? What am I supposed to do, huh? Go to school in the _same _clothes? By the time you get me back to my house, we'll have to go to school! I live practically an hour away in the opposite direction."

That was totally an exaggeration; Tyler could get to her house and back in a heartbeat. He refrained from saying that, though, because she would've just pointed out that he can transport.

Before Tyler could come up with an idea, the living room lights flicked on and he saw Aria standing at the stairs.

"Come on, Brittany. Let's find you something to wear."

Upstairs, Aria fitted her into an outfit that was both totally Brittany's style - comfortable but cute - _and _her size.

"Okay, I don't get it."

"Don't get what?" Aria asked, rifling through her closet for a pair of shoes. She and Brittany were the same size in that department, apparently.

"You're helping me. And your brother. Which is totally out of character."

Aria sat back on her heels. "You're right. Usually I'd take advantage of his stupidity and use this situation to prove to my parents that Tyler is more irresponsible than me."

"So…why aren't you doing that?" Brittany asked curiously.

Aria sighed. "Because I already have undeniable proof that I am the most irresponsible child in this family." She had been telling her dad that he was a hypocrite, that he didn't have to worry about her because she wouldn't ever be as irresponsible as he and her mom had been…Now, that was all shot to hell. Aria handed her a pair of shoes.

Brittany nodded, accepting the answer. "Well, we can't _all _be responsible, right?"

Aria looked at her. "Okay, now _I _don't get it."

"What?" Brittany asked, slipping her feet into the shoes Aria had given her.

"How are you with a guy like _Tyler_? Because you're, like, fun. And he's…a fun-killer."

Brittany shrugged. "I dunno. Sometimes you just…end up with someone, and it works. You know?"

Aria frowned, thinking of how hard it had been to make her relationship with Brian work. And how in the end, it failed anyways. "No, I don't."

"Oh, well…you will," Brittany said. She sounded pretty sure. Aria wished she could ever be that sure about something.

Oh, wait. She _was_.

She was pretty sure that today at school was going to be hell.

When Brittany and Aria went back downstairs, the atmosphere had changed drastically. It had only been about twenty minutes, but already the house was buzzing with life.

"We just fell asleep," Tyler was saying in the kitchen as he ate a bowl of cereal.

Fang didn't say anything. Just poured creamer into his coffee and glanced at Max.

"You _better _have just fallen asleep," Max threatened, swatting her son in the back of the head. Then she glanced up as Aria and Brittany entered the kitchen. "Morning, girls."

"Morning," Aria said, grabbing cereal out of the cabinet. "Where's the milk?"

"Here!" Tyler said, but it was muffled since his mouth was full of cocoa puffs.

Fang took a long drink from his coffee cup before saying, "Don't just stand there, Brittany. Get yourself some breakfast." Then, as he pour more coffee, he said, "Better yet, Tyler, you do it. She's a guest."

"No, I can do it," Brittany said immediately. "Uh, sorry about…spending the night. It was a complete accident."

Max smiled. "Tyler already pleaded his case. We've got cereal, pop tarts, granola bars…"

"Has anyone seen my hairbrush?" Cassidy called from upstairs.

"In my bathroom!" Aria called. "I borrowed it because Tyler _broke _mine."

He just shrugged.

"Is Alex up?" Fang asked. "You guys need to leave soon."

"I woke him up, but he probably went back to sleep," Cassidy said as she came downstairs, yanking a purple brush through her hair.

"I'll get him," Aria said, making her way upstairs.

"Brittany, do your parents know you spent the night?" Max asked.

"Uh…"

Fang and Max looked at each other and groaned simultaneously.

"Now we're _those _parents," Fang muttered. "Tyler, you're going home with Brittany and apologizing to her parents after school. And Brittany, you should probably call and tell them what happened."

Brittany nodded. "Yeah, I will."

"Well, I have to get to work," Fang said. Cassidy finally made it down the stairs, practically dragging Alex behind her.

"Yeah, we need to get going, too," Max said. She leaned over and kissed him quickly before ushering all the kids out to the van.

And thus the day began.

**A/N: Short, I know. Please review and tell me what you thought, what's on your mind, what you ate for dinner last night…I don't even care **_**what **_**you tell me. Review please!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Why I am so intrigued by **_**Marriage Bootcamp: Bridezillas**_**? Been watching it all day. I hate Remy. Blech. **

"Alright!" I called as the coed class filed into the gym. It was third hour, Aria's class, and I watched her walk in with a couple of other girls around her. This morning she'd acted fine, and she looked fine now, so I wasn't too worried.

I, on the other hand, was not fine. I mean, the whole morning sickness phase had passed me by pretty quickly, but now I was getting, like, _hot _for no reason - all the time. And right now, I really, really, really just wanted some jalapeños.

Ugh.

This was one of my rowdiest classes, and it took a while for them to all quiet down. By the time I had them doing stretches, though, it had calmed down a bit. Aria was keeping herself surrounded by girlfriends, I noticed. Good.

I started taking roll, since I couldn't just glance and know that everyone was there. Still didn't know everyone's names. Amnesia probs.

As I was getting into the Ks - there were a lot of K last names, oddly enough - I heard some guy talking to his friends loudly enough for the entire class to hear.

"Yeah, we're over," he said, not sounding very upset. "But dude, there's a reason her name's _Ride_." A bunch of guys around him started laughing.

I glanced up at Aria while still calling names. She'd heard, alright. She refused to meet my eyes. I scanned my list of names until I found it.

Brian Marks.

"Marks," I called.

He smirked at me through the crowd of teens. "Present!"

"Good," I said. "Mouth shut during stretches."

He rolled his eyes. "Yes ma'am. You're the boss."

I lowered my paper. "We got a problem?"

He shook his head.

"Line up. I'm going to count out teams so no switching or trading. Ones go to the left of the gym, twos to the right."

I started down the line, telling students their numbers.

"Go to your sides," I said. I went to the rack by the doors and grabbed two dodge balls.

"Uh, Mrs. Ride?"

I raised an eyebrow. One of the kids on the One team was confused. Probably because the only person on the Two team was Brian Marks.

"The teams are a little uneven," the boy pointed out obviously.

I threw one of the dodge balls to the boy speaking and he caught it against his stomach, groaning. Okay, maybe I threw it a little hard…

"Yeah, well. Mr. Marks over here seems to think he's a big, tough man. Why not let him humor us. First team to be completely out has to run two miles on the track." I glanced at Aria and she was smiling so big at me that I grinned back, just for a second.

I remembered her words to her brother during our camping trip.

"_Give me my phone, or I'm hitting you where it counts."_

"_You wouldn't." _

"_That's what you said last time," Aria sneered. "You couldn't walk for an hour. Give me my phone."_

"Aria, heads up."

I threw her the other dodge ball. She caught it, bouncing it in her hand in anticipation.

Brian put on a fierce look and got ready.

I blew the whistle.

After about a minute, Brian was rolling in pain on the ground. All the boys collectively winced and covered themselves. I sighed, setting down my clipboard.

"Someone get the kid some ice," I called. One of Brian's friends went to get ice from the nurse.

I glanced back at the other kids. Aria was sharing a few well-earned high fives. When the kid got back with the ice pack I walk over to Brian and knelt down next to him.

"Here," I said, and he weakly took the ice from me. "You good? You gonna throw up?"

He just stared at me, panting.

"Make sure you come by after school, make up those two miles. I'll be in my office."

• • •

"Mom, you are so badass!"

I look up from my desk. It was sixth hour, the only hour I had for plan period. I had no class. Tyler was standing in the doorway.

"Shouldn't you be in class?"

He held up a bathroom pass, smirking. "I'm going to the bathroom."

I rolled my eyes.

"You let Aria beat up Brian in class? That's awesome!"

"She didn't beat him up. They were playing dodge ball. Brian took an unlucky hit."

Tyler just grinned at me.

"There's rumors floating around everywhere," Tyler sighed, sitting across my desk from me. "I was going to kick his ass myself if Aria didn't do something about it."

I sat forward in my chair. "Since when are you allowed to curse in front of me? You want to be Brian's runnin' buddy after school?"

He laughed.

"Go to class," I said, shooting him a smile. "Behave."

He rolled his eyes and the next thing I knew, he was nowhere to be seen.

I went back to what I'd been doing prior to my son's visit. I spun around in my desk chair and kept checking my school email. I had a lot built up in my inbox after missing two weeks of work. As I was going through my email, my cell phone started to ring.

"Hello?"

"Max. How are you today?"

I snapped my phone shut. My office suddenly felt twenty degrees colder. I couldn't help but looked around for him, look out in the hallway to see if he was there. I stared down at my phone, seeing it flashing that my call had just ended. I went into recent calls and saw that it had been a blocked number.

How the hell did Dylan get my cell phone number?

• • •

"I feel like he's always there," I whispered. "Like even when I don't see him, he's watching me."

Fang, who was already lying in bed, lifted the covers for me. I crawled in next to him.

"What can I do?" Fang asked softly.

What could he do?

I wasn't sure. I didn't know how to get rid of Dylan. I didn't know how to make myself feel safe. Because honestly, the more Dylan came around, the less safe I felt.

"I want you to feel safe," Fang murmured, tucking my head under his chin. "I never want you to be afraid of him."

"I am _not _afraid of him," I insisted immediately, looking up at him.

Fang smiled lightly, but still I could see the worry etched into his features. "He knows not to come around you when I'm with you. He knows what I'd do."

I pressed my hands to Fang's chest when he pulled me closer.

"What would you do?"

He lowered his gaze to stare into my eyes. "What I _should've _done last time."

"…What would that be?" I asked softly.

Fang looked down at me, brushing my hair back. "I'd take care of it."

I tried not to think about the fact that Fang was talking about killing someone. Then I tried not to think about why the thought of him killing Dylan made me sick.

"What else happened today?" Fang murmured, noticing that talking of Dylan made me really uncomfortable.

"Well," I began slowly, rolling onto my back. Fang's hand slide to my hip, his arm laying across my stomach. "Aria _killed _Brian in dodge ball today."

Fang smirked. "She told me. Been a while since she came home and willingly told me about her day."

I smiled at him, tossing my head to the side so I was looking at him.

He leaned over, pressing his forehead to mine. I closed my eyes, sighing. Fang had a way of just taking all my worries and making them all go away.

We laid in silence for a while. Fang's hand that was slowly rubbing my hip started to stroke my stomach. "When's your next check up?" he whispered.

"Next week," I said. "Is it noticeable, yet?"

I glanced down at my belly, seeing how it was rounder, only slightly.

"To me," he grinned. "But that's just because I know you _so _well."

I smirked at him, entwining my fingers with his on my stomach.

"How about you? Feelin' any symptoms, yet?"

"Well, today at lunch, I ate jalapeños on _everything_."

Fang laughed, a sound I was quickly beginning to get addicted to. I smiled.

"Everything, huh?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. I brushed."

"Yeah?" he breathed back, leaning toward me. Just as he was about to kiss me, I flipped onto my side, facing away from him. I heard him groan in disappointment against my neck.

I smirked.

"In your dreams, Fang."

"Hmm…Can't wait."

**A/N: ****Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I don't even know why I'm updating right now. **

**I'm really glad a lot of you are enjoying the story, even if it wasn't what you expected. It makes me really happy that you all didn't read the epilogue in **_**Choices **_**and desert me. (:**

**Oh, go check out my new one-shot called **_**Not Just a Bar**_**. Very different take on future fax. Leave me a review there, because I seriously want to know if that one is good or bad or what. I was kind of unsure when I uploaded it…**

**Read on.**

"Except I don't care what anyone thinks," I said stubbornly into my cell phone that I was skillfully holding between my shoulder and my ear as I stuck the straw in the juice box and passed it into the backseat to Alex. The kid could walk through fire but was apparently inept when it came to apple juice. Don't ask me. I was also driving, so I was like, _triple _multi-tasking. Whoever says multitasking is impossible has never met me.

"Can you just _pretend _to care about what people think for one day? Please? Max, I am totally right. This is the first real public thing you've done since the disappearance, and I am not letting you step a foot out of your house looking drab."

"No one says drab anymore, Nudge."

"Shut up. Listen, I know you aren't a very glamorous person. I get it. I promise I can dress you up without making you totally uncomfortable! I've done it before."

I held up a warning finger to the backseat full of kids, who were all getting surprisingly loud for tired children at six thirty in the morning. "And you can ensure that I won't want to rip out of my own skin…how?"

"Max, I've been dressing you practically since _I _could walk. I mean, honestly. If it weren't for me, you'd still be walking around in…_Nike _exercise shirts that are two sizes too big!"

She said it like it was a catastrophe. I glanced down at my clothes, seeing the black _Nike _symbol across my chest.

I think some things are best unsaid.

"There are going to be cameras everywhere, since everyone knows that you're pregnant and people are paying the big bucks to get a picture of you and Fang together. The last time a usable picture of the two of you was taken by the press was…your wedding day."

"Let me guess, Fang and I have our own ways of making their shots unusable."

"Yes. One way being the finger between your ring and your pointer."

I laughed. "I do not want to wear a dress."

Nudge huffed. "I have to go to work. But mark my words - in a few months you won't be able to fit into your pants. You might as well just give in to me now."

I cringed.

"Bye, Max! Have a _great _day!"

I sighed, pressing End. Next to me, Tyler was reaching backward from the passenger seat to steal a pack of gum from Aria's open purse pocket.

"Stop touching my stuff. Seriously. I _will _rip off your fingers."

I sighed, turning into the elementary school's parking lot. "Aria, stop."

I spun around in my seat and gave Cassidy and Alex a kiss.

"Be good. Please don't get in trouble. Have a good day," I called as they climbed out and headed into the school. Once they disappeared into the building, I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the high school.

"Aria's just having a hard time admitting everyone else was right except her."

"Tyler, you are so full of it."

"We all told you not to screw around with him - I even told you not to let him use you like that! But _no_-"

"Hey," I interrupted sternly. "Knock it off."

They ignored me.

Tyler leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes. He sighed. "You know what they say, Ar: lay down with the dogs, you get fleas. And I mean a literal dog. Maybe even literal fleas. You might need to go to the doctor for a little check up."

I shot Tyler a warning glance, trying to find a place to park in the teacher lot. It was surprisingly hard to get to work early enough for a good parking spot.

"Shut up, Tyler," Aria ground out.

"You know what they call a female dog-"

"I said _shut up_!" Aria pulled open the van door behind me and I slammed on the breaks.

"Aria!"

"No!" she shouted. She yanked her book bag out of the car, swinging it onto her shoulder. "It's bad enough Brian's got his stupid friends saying shit like that to me. Let alone my own brother. Way to look out for me, Ty. Really. I totally appreciate it."

She slammed the door shut and I sighed, turning my head to look at Tyler. He frowned at me.

"I know, I know," he groaned, holding his hand up to me. "I'll fix it."

Then he transported out of the van. I groaned.

It could only go up from here, right?

Oh, so wrong.

Tyler showed up in my office after school, Brittany on his tail. Were those two ever apart?

It had been a long day, but at least nothing dramatic had happened since our scene in the car. Aria had seemed better during third hour, and my students couldn't really annoy me when they were running the track. I mean, they couldn't annoy me that _much_. They were all quickly learning that a pregnant Mrs. Ride was an unhappy, cranky Mrs. Ride.

"We just need to wait for your sister, then we can go," I said, shutting down my computer and grabbing my phone.

"Uh, Mom? Aria might be a little _late _today-"

Suddenly, Fang was standing in my doorway, behind Brittany and Tyler. His eyes sought mine, his face contorted in unvoiced question.

"Fang, what are you doing here?" I asked. I stood up, grabbing my stuff.

"Call from the principle."

"What? Why? I haven't-"

"Mrs. Ride, please come to the office. Mrs. Ride."

My face dropped into a frown. Why was I being called into the office for the second time in a row?

Fang raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed, immediately knowing it was Aria. Also immediately knowing it probably wasn't good news. I looked at Tyler. "What did she do?"

Tyler just gulped. He looked like he didn't want to be the one to tell me. Great.

"You'll see."

Tyler and Brittany said they'd kill some time while Fang and I went to the office to see what was wrong. Obviously something major since Fang was called in, too.

Fang opened the office door and the secretary just pointed at the chairs sitting outside Dr. Jameson's office.

Aria was sitting in one, her arms crossed over her chest. She was sending off strong _don't touch me _vibes.

Next to her was Brian. He had a black eye and a swollen, bruised nose.

"Aria!" I gasped.

She looked up when she saw both of us standing there. Brian just glared across the room.

"Hey. When can we leave?"

"_When can we _- oh, my God, Aria…" I shook my head, looking at Fang. I was floored. What the hell were we supposed to do? Yell at her? Congratulate her? I kind of wanted to do both.

"Aria, tell me you didn't get in a fight," I finally managed.

Aria smirked at Fang. "Not really. I just beat up some wimpy-ass kids who was spreading rumors behind my back."

That caught my attention. "_Kids_? Plural?"

Aria looked almost sheepish.

"Nice!" Fang laughed. I elbowed him, hard, telling him silently to at least pretend to be an adult. He straightened next to me.

Brian rolled his good eye. I honestly could not take the kid seriously. Fang was completely stern and fatherly on the outside when he thought to me, _I am so fucking proud of her. _

I covered my smiled with my hand.

The door to the office opened behind them and Dr. Jameson peered out at us. "Ah, well it looks like we can start our meeting. Children. Mr. and Mrs. Ride. Please come in, take a seat."

I mentally groaned to Fang, who just grabbed my hand. Brian stood up and limped into the office, and Fang caught Aria's wrist. He pressed a kiss to her head.

"Brilliant, Ar. Just brilliant."

Aria grinned at him before facing the office and walking in.

Brian's parents were both sitting in the office already, their faces set in angry, worried expressions. I chewed on my lip. They were probably going to want Aria expelled… Shit.

"Now," Dr. Jameson began, sitting behind the desk. "As you can probably see, Brian and Aria got into a bit of a tussle today."

"A tussle? She smashed my kid's face in!" Brian's dad shouted. "And his two friends were both dragged into her rampage!"

"He looks better that way," Aria pointed out.

_Three kids, _Fang thought to me, his voice sounding…impressed. _She beat up three kids. _

_We're harboring a sadist. _

Fang snorted, putting his arm around me.

"Mr. Marks, please. I think we can all agree it would be best if we stay professional here."

"Nothing's professional about using _super powers _to hurt another kid," Brian's mother said in a prissy voice. "As intolerable as her mother."

"Excuse me," I snapped. "Do we know each other?"

She looked me up and down cruelly. "I don't need to _know _you to know _about _you, Maximum."

"Oh, I'm flattered," I spat, glaring at her. She shrunk back into her chair. You've heard of me, huh? Then you know how ruthless I can be when challenged. Well done. "Want an autograph?"

"Excuse me, parents, if we could focus on the issue at hand."

The four of us spun our heads to look at Dr. Jameson. Aria continued to glare at Brian, Brian continued to stare across the room at nothing.

"Now, Aria. What is your reason for attacking Brian today in the hallway?"

Aria glanced at me. She and I both knew he was spreading rumors about her. But by the look on her face, I knew she wasn't going to say that. She wasn't going to be a tattletale. She'd already gotten her revenge.

"No reason," Aria muttered. "Sometimes you just gotta hit something."

"Oh, my God," I breathed. I kicked her chair. "Aria."

"What?" she asked, daring me to tell the truth.

I looked at her for a second.

"Brian is spreading rumors about her," I spilled.

"Mom!"

"He is!"

I was her mother. Too bad if she didn't like the fact that I was tattling for her. It was the truth, and it was only fair that he get in trouble, too. I saw Fang grit his teeth beside me and realized another reason why Aria probably didn't want to say why she'd beaten Brian up - because Fang didn't _know _about the rumors.

_Rumors? _Fang asked me.

_You know how teenagers are, Fang. _

That answer did not satisfy him. I sighed and thought to him, _Rumors that include our daughter and our last name. _

On the outside, Fang appeared to be completely calm and serious. But I could tell he was seeing red. I squeezed his hand.

"I see," Dr. Jameson said, glancing at Brian. "Did you witness this bullying taking place?"

"Yes, I did. It happened in my class yesterday."

"Why did you not bring the issue to me?" Dr. Jameson asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Because I have the authority to discipline within my classroom."

"More like discriminate," Brian muttered, sounding fuzzy.

"Excuse me?" I demanded.

He stared at me, almost in fear. I had to force myself not to smile with satisfaction. Mwahah-

"What do you mean, Brian?" Mrs. Marks asked.

Brian pointed meanly in my direction. "_She _set the rest of the gym against me in a game of dodge ball!"

I waved my hand dismissively. "You never said you were uncomfortable with the game."

"Then she made me run two miles after school!"

His parents glared at me.

"So, I made your kid exercise. He needed it."

Mr. Marks looked at Dr. Jameson, his face turning red with anger. "Dr. Jameson, I demand you take action here!"

"Do not demand me to do anything," Jameson said firmly. "Ms. Ride felt the need to protect herself today in the only way she saw fit."

Aria's face brightened.

"Attacking another student is _not _okay! I don't care who your parents are! If violence is the only solution you see to a problem, then you were not brought up correctly!"

_Is there really a _right _way to raise kids these days? _I mused. Fang snorted next to me.

_Yeah, _Fang thought back, _but we just don't use _that _way. _

"Two days of In School Suspension for both of you, starting tomorrow. That's my final verdict. And," he said, pointing at Aria and Brian, " you need to learn how to forgive and forget. I'm not asking you to like each other - heck, you two don't even have to look at each other. No more fighting. Understood?"

"Understood," Aria said with relief on her face, standing up. She'd probably been expecting the worst - like expulsion.

"No!" Mrs. Marks said. "Why should our son be penalized for being _attacked_?"

"Emotional and physical abuse are _both _not tolerated at our high school, Mrs. Marks. I hope you can see why Brian's bullying is just as bad as what Aria did."

Mrs. Marks huffed, standing up. Dr. Jameson dismissed us all and the six of us went out into the empty hallway. There, Mr. Marks got in Fang's face and hissed, "I don't care how famous you are, you'll always be freaks. You need to teach your kids not to act like wild animals. You people are disgusting."

Fang slammed Mr. Marks back against the lockers. "You know what's more disgusting? The fact that you taught your son it's okay to emotionally attack a fifteen-year-old girl. I taught my daughter how to defend herself against pigs like him. Maybe you should teach him how to respect a woman."

I started to laugh, then realized that it was totally not appropriate since I was supposed to be the adult in this situation. I choked down my laughter and said, "Let's go, _honey_." I yanked Fang's arm, maybe a bit too hard, and practically dragged him out to the parking lot, Aria on our heels, smirking the whole way.

**A/N: So, I **_**really **_**want you to tell me one thing you liked about this chapter, and one thing you like about this story. **

**Is it turning out better than you thought it would? **

**Are you excited to see more? **

**Review for the office party and some actual PLOT… **


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: THIS IS CHAPTER 20. THAT IS SO SURREAL I CAN'T EVEN...**

**I'd just like to take a moment to brag about my awesome readers because they are AWESOME.**

**Review of the Week: "Now, I am a responsible young man, so I punched him back. Not hard enough to cause too much damage, just enough to bruise his ego. I may have gotten a little carried away, because he had a decent sized bruise on his face."**

**You sir, Person, are incredible. Seriously. Thank you for being you. **

**A few other incredible reviewers: 3ThingsWithWings, LovePercabeth4eva, Bunny lover, Guest, BlackStarGodliness, totalbookworm42, Taylorannw12, GagaBear18, greysky3, Kalico37, Elemental Dragon Slayer, KaiAmazonKnightley, Serenaisbestezrq387, acap-fax, SnowWhiteQueen802, blueskies36, Shelsha, meganmarcia1997, FlowerChild22, PolkadottedPandas, pancakes-for-you, CatieBug14, Cassandra Prince, Kati Kitty, TheDelta724, jetthedog and a lot more! You all deserve, like, a pool party or something. For real. Pool parties, as we all know, are only for the cool kids. And you all are definitely cool kids.**

**luckykins: Don't apologize for long reviews! They're my favorite! Thanks!**

**So I guess you should probably start reading this totally long chapter… (It's not really that long, but if I say it is you'll believe me)**

As soon as I parked the van in the driveway, I walked straight into the house and up the stairs to our bedroom.

Aria was downstairs, recounting the entire meeting with Dr. Jameson to the other kids. Fang had driven his own car home and was just pulling in the driveway as I walked into our bedroom.

I pushed out of the running pants I'd worn to work - being a PE teacher gave me a much more comfortable uniform than normal teachers - and pulled on a pair of baggy sweats. Then I crawled into bed.

As soon as my head hit the soft, welcoming pillow, our bedroom door flew open.

"Max, get up. We've got a party to go to."

I groaned. I'd totally forgotten that was tonight. The last time I'd thought about it had been in the morning, on the phone with Nudge.

"But…I just changed into sweats."

Fang came over to the bed and grabbed my foot. "Get up, before I make you."

"Oh, yeah? How are you going to _make _me?"

Fang leaned down over me suddenly, his face over above mine. I sucked in a breath at the sudden proximity. Then, as his lips got closer and closer -

He tickled my foot.

I exclaimed in laughter, kicking my foot in response and arching my back so I was pressing myself against him. "Stop!" I cried, laughing. I couldn't control myself at that point. "Fang, stop!"

He started kissing my face, peppering soft kisses everywhere. When he finally dropped my foot to hold my waist, I lifted my head off the mattress to kiss him on the mouth. Our mouths moved quickly and his teeth nipped at my bottom lip, silently asking me for more. I sighed, pulling him closer. His tongue slid into my mouth and tangled with my own and I tried to breathe but suddenly couldn't remember how to. Finally, I pulled away, letting my head fall back against the bed again. I slowly moved my fingers through his hair.

"What am I supposed to wear?"

"That's absolutely not my department. The others will be here soon, though, and Nudge will probably bring you something."

"The whole flock is coming?"

Fang grinned, standing up. "Well, Angel, Nudge and Iggy. Sophie and Ella are coming over here to stay with the kids…Gaz and Emma said they couldn't. Ty's bringing Brittany."

"So, you, me, Aria, Tyler, Brittany, Iggy, Nudge and Angel."

"And Aaron."

"Fuck, _and _Aaron?" I groaned, rolling onto my back. "This'll be interesting."

He chuckled at that. I continued to lay on our bed and stare at the ceiling and contemplate life while he got dressed, probably switching out his work-appropriate black ensemble with another, more classy work-appropriate black ensemble. While Fang was buttoning up his shirt, our door burst open.

"Here we go, as promised!"

I stared at Nudge.

Maybe complete defiance would work… "Uh, no?"

It was more of a question than anything, really.

"Get your ass out of bed before I _make _you," she threatened. "We're not going to go through this whole Max-complains-about-looking-like-an-adult scenario. Okay? You are fucking too old for that."

Fang snorted, putting on his tie.

"It's not even an ugly dress. I promise you'll be, like, drop-dead gorgeous and Fang will bang you in his office. Go put it on."

Ignoring the bang comment, I shot up and grabbed the dress from Nudge before she could continue on her rant about her fashion and my stubbornness.

"You know, we've never banged in my office before," I heard Fang as I changed. Nudge scoffed.

"I don't believe you. Hmm, wonder why… Oh, because you two are _disgusting_."

"You have no idea."

Nudge laughed. "You done yet?" she called, pounding on the bathroom door.

The dress Nudge had given me was black and fitted around my chest. It was comfortable - curse you, Nudge, for being right - and it wasn't too tight, so I didn't feel like my subtle baby bump was bustin' out. All in all, she did a pretty good job. I opened the door behind me.

"Now do something with your hair," Nudge said.

Well, that was helpful. I looked at myself in the mirror for a second before grabbing a hair tie and pulling my blonde hair back into a long ponytail that hung loosely down my back. Nudge looked at me, pulled out a few strands around my face, and then smiled.

"Angel just told me that the limo was pulling up outside," Nudge said, tapping her temple. Of course, Angel had probably told her in her head.

"A limo?" I raised an eyebrow at Fang. He rolled his eyes, obviously agreeing that it was ridiculous. "Tell me you're kidding."

"Oh, sorry, did you want to show up in the _van_? Figures. Come on." Nudge rushed out of our room and downstairs. Fang wrapped his arm around my waist and I looked up at him.

"Nudge was right."

About what? Nudge had said so many damn things in the past few minutes that Fang just needed to be more specific. Fang grinned at me, reading my mind.

"Well…she's right about you looking gorgeous. I don't know how I'm going to keep everyone's hands off you…including my own."

Yes, Fang. Please. Say more things that make me want to jump your bones. Go right ahead.

"But," he groaned, kissing my neck, "she's right about us being disgusting, too. I like to think of it as creativity, though."

"Hmm…yeah, you are going to have to work on the hands-off thing tonight," I murmured, pulling out of his grasp. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Okay, so I may be really selfish, but something about seeing the mixture of people gathered in our living room made me not want to touch that limousine with a ten foot pole. It sounded like it would be the car ride from Hell. Brittany and Tyler were sitting on the couch, squished in between Aaron and Iggy, who were giving them a hard time.

"Now, listen, Brittany," Iggy said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "If Tyler tries anything, just punch him. If you don't want to punch him, tell me and I'll punch him for you, okay? You gotta put him in his place."

Aaron chuckled. "On the other hand, if either of your outfits look tampered with by the end of the evening, well," he paused, winking at Brittany while hitting Tyler on the back, "good job."

"Aaron, will you please…not talk?" I said.

Aaron held his hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying, Max-"

"Don't put that thought in his head!"

Aaron rolled his eyes. "He's a teenage boy! It's probably not the first time that thought has been in his head."

"Honey, face it. your son is growing up; eventually, he's going to get married and have kids," Fang chuckled in my ear, wrapping his arms around my midsection. "Maybe not even in that order. Like father, like son."

My jaw dropped. I pointed at Tyler. "You and me, kid. We are going to talk about abstinence."

"No!" Tyler said, looking frightened. "Besides, I don't really think you're the best person to warn me about premarital sex."

Well, Iggy and Aaron just thought that was hilarious.

"Your son just called you a slut," Iggy cackled. Ella, who was holding Aiden, smacked him.

"You just got told," Nudge agreed.

I glared at Tyler. "You think they're any better? Seriously?"

Tyler shrugged. "Better than having that chat with my _mom_."

"Shouldn't you have already had this talk with him? Hm?" Nudge prompted.

Fang shrugged, still behind me. "He's a good kid."

"Aria's the one who needs it, eh, Chicken?" Iggy joked.

Aria just tapped her foot, obviously not enjoying the conversation now that it had turned to her. Fang and I glanced at each other. Obviously we'd have to tell the others to not mention anything concerning abstinence or Brian for a while…

"Can we go?" Aria mumbled.

"Yeah, we should," Fang said, kissing my cheek before pulling away from me. We all said goodbye to Ella, Sophie and the young kids before squeezing into the limo.

The drive to the building was almost an hour, considering our house was out in the middle of nowhere and Fang's job was in the city. When we pulled up, there were, as Nudge had promised, quite a few people with cameras.

I grabbed Fang's wrist.

"I don't-"

He maneuvered our hands so that our fingers were entwined together. "I know. How they even find out about small office parties is beyond me."

Fang cast a glance over our kids, who looked incredibly prim and proper - and totally out of their elements. Aria was in a navy blue dress, her long black hair in tight curls around her face. Tyler was actually in a suit. Surprising, I know. He was holding Brittany's hand - I had a feeling this was one of the first times she'd gone to a public event with us. She was in a green flowy dress with thick straps.

"Try to embarrass only yourself," Fang muttered.

I snorted. "No promises."

Fang pressed his lips to my temple for a second. "I was talking to Tyler."

The exit from the limo was only overwhelming because of the constant shouting and flashes. Fang put his hand on Aria's back and moved her ahead of us. Tyler opened the tall, heavy glass doors and we stepped into a marble foyer.

"Fancy," I mumbled. Fang dropped my hand and slid his arm around my waist.

There were little clusters of people in the entrance lobby, but we were supposed to go up to the eighth floor.

And let me tell you. When Fang said office party, he meant office _party_.

"You must be the most uptight boss ever," I mumbled. Fang grinned.

"Why?"

"Half of these people look like they haven't untied their ties and let loose in ages."

There were people walking around with appetizers. A bunch of well-dressed business people and, I'm guessing, employees of Fang, we mingling. There was music playing. From where, I had no idea.

"Food!" Tyler dragged Brittany away toward a moving plate of finger foods. At the last moment, Brittany clasped Aria's wrist and the three of them all disappeared into the crowd.

"Fang!"

Fang and I turned to see a short young woman with glasses standing in a skirt and blouse. She had a black blazer on, too.

"Oh, Max! I'm-"

"I remember you!" I exclaimed. So sue me; I was excited to actually recognize someone _and _know their name. I looked at Fang. He was smirking at me.

"Oh, cool," she said, smiling at me. "I'm memorable."

"You're Hayden," I said, pointing at her. "Now…_why _do I remember you?"

It was weird…I remembered her name, but not who she was. Well, that is, until Fang said, "She's my secretary."

"_Hey," Fang said, standing up. He stepped around his desk to come to me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me lightly on the mouth. "I thought we were meeting down the block for lunch." _

"_I figured we could just walk together," I said. _

"_Okay, well I have an interview-"_

"_For what?" I asked. _

"_I'm getting a new secretary."_

_I eyed him. "Why? What was wrong with Reilly?" _

"_That was just an internship for the month," Fang said. "He got a job a few towns over."_

"_Okay, well then…I'll help you interview." _

_Fang looked at me, seeming torn. "Fine. But just…don't scare her off." _

_I shrugged. Scary? Me? No way. _

_I mean, not on purpose. _

_Okay. On purpose. _

_There was a knock at Fang's door. I dragged another chair behind his desk to sit by him. When she came in, I scrutinized her. _

"_I can't believe I'm in Fang Ride's office right now," she breathed, straightening her shoulders. Her long hair was naturally blonde and she wore glasses. She was in black dress pants and a nice nlouse. She obviously didn't look like a girl with bad intentions…but it's always the innocent-looking ones, you know. _

"_Hi," she said, grinning, taking Fang's hand. "I'm Hayden. I really wanted to thank you for this opportunity."_

"_Yeah, of course. This is-"_

"_Max," she said. "Yeah, I…I know. Hi, I'm Hayden. You look great." _

"_I've seven months pregnant," I deadpanned, sitting down. She laughed nervously, glancing between Fang and I. _

"_So, Hayden, you're resume was great," Fang said, opening a manila envelope. Aw, wasn't he so cute when he was pretending to be professional? _

_It was still so super weird seeing him wear, like, dress shirts to work. Wtf. Who the hell was he these days? _

_Although, the button-ups were very fun to unbutton every night…_

_At least, when he let _me _do it… _

"_I see that you've interned for-" _

"_Let's cut to the chase, we have lunch plans," I said, smacking my hand down on the words Fang was reading. He groaned, leaning back in his chair. "Now, Hayden. Are you ever going to dye your hair red?" _

"_Um…no?" _

"_Good. You might have to sign an agreement policy just to bind you to that answer…" I trailed off, seeing Fang's seething look. "Okay! Second question: Are you going to try to seduce my husband?" _

_The poor girl barely looked eighteen, and her innocent face lit up in shock, her eyes wide. "W-what? Oh, my God, no!" _

"_Jesus…Max," Fang hissed. He sat up, leaning over to me. "You can't ask questions like that in a business interview-"_

_I put my hand on his knee, squeezing hard. _Shut up_, I thought to him. "I have to warn you, it probably won't work if you _do _try, considering he loves me and he knows I'd kick his ass if he ever did anything that stupid…but we really don't need that kind of drama. We have two kids, a third on the way. Fang doesn't need to be harassed at work by a horny secretary." _

_Fang looked at Hayden. "I am _so _sorry."_

"_Uh, Mrs. Ride, I don't think you have to worry about that so much. I mean, you guys are, like, my favorite celebrity couple. I definitely wouldn't try to do…that. No offense, Mr. Ride."_

"_Fang," Fang said weakly. _

_She nodded. "Fang." _

"_Well," I said, leaning back in my chair. "I say you hire her." _

"_Really? Oh, my gosh, that is so cool!" _

"_Wait, we haven't-"_

"_What else do you need to know?" _

_Fang glared at me, then looked at Hayden. "You two…this is a bad match."_

_Hayden smiled brightly at me and I returned it. _

"_When can you start?"_

"I've been working for Fang for a long time now. This was my first job. Tyler was, like, three? Ar was two."

"Haven't you ever wanted to move up in the publication career?" I asked curiously. It seemed like thirteen years was a long time to be an assistant. Was Fang one of those hard-ass bosses who never rewarded good employees?

"I mean, I get promotions," Hayden said, smiling. "I'm now assistant editor. But, I'm still Fang's secretary."

"Hayden!"

Hayden's head snapped over to where her name had been called. She smiled. "I've gotta go, I'll see you soon."

She disappeared into the mass of people. Angel stood before us.

"Well, since I just recently went through a break up, and I am in _desperate _need for a new man with work ethic…any good guys here, Fang?"

Fang barely glanced around. "No."

Angel smirked. I elbowed him.

"Fang, just put aside your protectiveness for a few - oh, what about _him_? Looks good." She paused, her eyes glazing over. "Thoughts aren't _too _repulsive…I'll be back in a bit."

Fang rolled his eyes. "You'd think after maturing a little, she'd learn how to put her powers aside. It gets in the way of a lot of her relationships. She can't help but be a control freak when she knows everyone's thoughts."

I agreed. I could understand how it would be hard for Angel to find someone who kept her entertained; but I could also see how some guy could lose his marbles after a while. I mean, she'd know every answer to her questions before she even asked him, so I could only imagine the train wreck communication would be. Yikes.

"If you two want, you can disappear now and go do kinky things in Fang's office," Aaron said. He nodded towards Iggy, who was grabbing two glasses of champagne from a moving caterer. "Looks like I'll just watch Ig get drunk off champagne."

"One's for Nudge, idiot," Iggy said, grinning. He winked. "But, yeah. What he said. We'll cover for you when the kids want to know where you are."

"Oh, but Fang _swears _they've never done anything in the workplace," Nudge said, sipping the champagne.

"We haven't," Fang said, looking down at me. _Despite my constant begging, _he added in my head. I rolled my eyes.

"Where's the weirdest place we've ever done it?" I asked, plain curious.

Fang thought for a second. "My car, in high school."

We all stared at him.

"A car? Are you _serious_? That's not even exciting or kinky at all," I said.

"I have to admit, that was pretty anti-climactic," Nudge agreed.

"Hah! Good one, Nudge," Iggy said. I nudged his arm and he busied himself with drinking.

"No, really!" Nudge said, brushing off Iggy's joke. "I was expecting, like, the bathroom at our old high school or something."

"Ew," I said, looking at her in shock. She shrugged.

Fang stared at me, his eyes lit with amusement. "My car…in Aaron's garage."

I recoiled, glancing at Aaron for confirmation. He nodded grimly. "Ew. Did he know we were there?"

Fang smirked, kissing me quickly. "Eventually."

Aaron groaned. "You two sickened me then and you sicken me now. I don't even want to remember that night."

"I do," I said, only half joking. As the others laughed, I scanned the room, feeling as if something was off. I searched for the kids and found them across the room, talking to a few other teenagers - who had probably had been dragged here by their parents, too. I saw Angel flipping her hair over her shoulder as she talked to the younger man she'd seen earlier.

"What's wrong?" Fang murmured, feeling my uneasiness.

"I don't know," I said. "Something's not-"

And then I saw him. He was standing on the far end of the room. This office area was built so one entire wall was glass, and he was staring out the windows at the city below.

He was here.

Dylan.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hi. I wanted to update before leaving for my aunt's for 4th of July. :)**

**Chapter 21! **

"**It's not breaking Guy Code to be scared, it's breaking Guy Code to show fear **_**in your face**_**."**

Fang was still watching me, alarmed. "What?"

At the sound of worry in Fang's tone, Aaron looked at us. "What's going on?"

"He's over there," I mumbled, my eyes still locked on his form. He was dressed in a navy blue suit, his blonde hair neat, his back straight. He completely blended with the crowd. A woman walked up to him, offered him a glass of champagne. She threw her head back in a laugh at something he said.

Slowly, Dylan turned and looked me straight in the eye. I froze. He smiled big. He held up his champagne then lowered it to his lips, taking a drink, his eyes never leaving my gaze. I gripped Fang's wrist. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. He had followed us here, easily gotten so, so close to us…

What did he _want _from me?

"Where?" Fang lifted his head, his hand squeezing my hip.

"Fang!" A man stepped in front of me and grabbed Fang's hand, shaking it roughly. "Hey, man! Great little event you got goin' here."

The man's eyes landed on me. I cast him a careless glance, trying to get him out of my way so I could go and kick Dylan's creepy little butt.

"Max, great to see you! Heard the news. Great!"

This guy seriously liked the word great.

"Pete, can you excuse us?" Fang said harshly, pulling me along. Aaron was still asking us what was wrong, and by then, Ig and Nudge had noticed us, too.

"What's happening?" Nudge asked as Fang and I pushed through the crowd.

"I don't see him anymore," I said. "He was by the windows, I swear-"

"Could someone _please _explain-"

Fang cut Iggy off, doing a sweeping glance of the room. "Dylan's here."

"What?" Nudge gasped. "_Dylan_?"

"It's a long story," I said. I seriously did not want to deal with this tonight. My stomach was in knots. I couldn't see Dylan anymore, but I kept searching the room for his tall figure. People were constantly moving, though, so it was hard to scan the crowd.

"He's practically stalking her," Fang muttered. "I've had enough."

"He was in a navy blue suit," I told him frantically. "He just disappeared…"

Suddenly, Aria appeared in front of Fang and I, slipping through the crowd. She smiled when she saw us.

"Some creepy secret admirer of yours came up to us over there, and he was like, 'You have your mother's eyes'," she said, laughing a bit at her impression of a deep voice. "Weird, right? Here, try this!" She shoved a small hors d'oeuvre under my nose.

I ignored the food. "Where's your brother?"

She rolled her eyes, popping the appetizer into her own mouth and turning to point across the room. "He's right-" she stopped abruptly, looking around. "He _was _right there, with that guy. Where did he go?"

My heart race was speeding up. I sent a horrified look at Fang before looking around the room once again, this time praying to spot Tyler.

"Whatcha guys lookin' for?"

I jumped. If one more person surprised me, I would have a freaking heart attack. Fang and I spun around to see Tyler standing there with an amused look on his face, Brittany under his arm.

"Don't do that again!" I said angrily.

He stared at me. "What? Ask a question?"

"Technically that was a question," Iggy said, putting his hand on Tyler's shoulder. "What's the plan here? We gonna hunt him down or what?"

"He's playing with us," I mumbled. "He knows we're going to try to find him."

"He's playing with _us_," Fang said lowly, probably so no one else would hear him but me. "You…you're the one he wants."

I let that sink in for a second. Fang was right. This was about me.

"I'll tell them to keep everyone inside," Fang said, already pulling away from me. He looked down at me.

I crossed my arms defiantly, glaring at him. "If you think I can't hold my own, you're delusional."

He looked at me a moment longer before disappearing into the throbbing mass of company employees. Iggy grabbed my arm.

"What should we do?" he asked me.

For some reason, if felt so totally _right _to be asked that question. I knew in seconds that I could answer it. Iggy was looking to me for an order, and I could give it to him.

"Stay here, don't lose any of them," I said, meaning Aaron, Nudge and the kids. "Try to find Angel - if need be, we're getting out of here. I'm going to go look in the offices."

"Are you sure?"

"If he sees any of you, he'll run," I reasoned softly.

"Okay," Iggy said reluctantly.

"What's going on?" Aria demanded, shoving between Iggy and I. "Who was that dude?"

"Come on," Iggy said, holding his hand out in Aria's direction. She took it. Aaron was already across the room, pulling Angel away from her potential boyfriend.

"It's fine," I said quickly, noting Aria's alarmed face. "I'll be right back."

Iggy grabbed my arm.

"You can transport to Fang," Iggy reminded me seriously. The hidden message, the one he didn't want my daughter to hear, was: _If you need help, go to him_.

I nodded, pushing through the crowd towards the long hallway of offices. Something felt off about this part of the building. Something was drawing me down this hallway.

At a first glance, I saw that one door was wide open. There was a glowing light coming from the inside. It was at the very end of the hall; the farthest away from the huge crowd of people at the party. Isolated.

When I reached the end of the hallway, any doubt that I'd had in my mind was long gone. He had to be in there. The door said _Mr. Fang Ride. _I clenched my hands into tight fists.

When I stepped into the office, I saw that it was completely dark inside except for a single lamp on the big, wooden desk. There he was, sitting in Fang's chair. Behind him, the biggest window in the room was wide open, the breeze making the curtains sway. His face was lit up dimly by the lamp, making him look even more sinister than normal. In his hands was a picture frame.

"You've been avoiding me," he said slowly.

It was a knee-jerk reaction when I rolled my eyes in frustration.

"You've been stalking me. Now that we've got the preliminaries out of the way…why won't you leave me alone?"

He stood up, letting the picture frame in his hand fall to the ground. The glass smashed loudly, but probably not loud enough to notify anyone down the hall that we were in there. Only loud enough to make me reflexively jump at the sound of breaking glass.

Dylan stood up, straightened his suit, and looked at me.

"Come over here, Max," Dylan said softly. When I didn't move, he sighed. He bent over, retrieved the picture that had been in the frame, and held it up. It was of Fang and I.

"You and him, in this picture…it's like life, really. It looks as if you're stuck there, together forever. There's no way for me to remove him from the picture."

I could barely hear Dylan's calm, soothing voice over my heartbeat.

"But I can try."

He folded the picture and held it up again, this time so it was only me. It was hard to swallow, hard to breathe. He shook his head, dissatisfied. He stepped closer and in seconds was standing inches away from me.

"But he's _still _there."

He thrust the picture into my face, pointing. I realized that this was the exact same picture I'd found in my wallet when I'd woken up in the woods. This was that exact photo, just bigger. We had our arms around each other, our wings out. Dylan pointed at Fang's arm that was still visible after he'd folded it. His wing behind me. His hand on my hip.

Dylan frowned. This time, he took the picture and ripped it, roughly, right down the middle.

He dropped the half with Fang in it to the ground and held the other half up. "Still, he's in the picture. Why can't I just cut him out? Huh?"

I ripped the half that had me in it out of his hand. "You can't just cut him out! This is my life, not just a picture, Dylan. You don't belong here."

"You're right," Dylan said. He reached down and grabbed the other half of the picture. "You know," he said casually, "Fang's taken everything from me. You, the flock…even when I tried to off myself, he took that away, too. He locked me up in jail. He ripped us apart, Max."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "No. You're _wrong_."

"No! I've thought this through. This life you have - this picture, if you will…" Dylan pulled out a metal lighter and flicked it open. The flame danced between us. "Can never fully exclude Fang until you get rid of it completely."

He held the corner of the half with Fang on it over the small, wiggling flame until it slowly caught and started burning.

"And once it's gone…" he breathed, dropping the burning paper at our feet, "we can have our _own _picture."

I stared at the half of the photo on the ground until it was completely burnt black and the flame was out.

I held up the half in my hand. "No, see? He's still there. My picture is _not _destroyed. You don't have that power."

I made sure Dylan saw what he'd shown me earlier. The arm, the wing, the hand on my waist. Fang was still in the picture. He always would be. Why couldn't Dylan get that into his head?

_Fang, he's in your office, _I thought, anxious. I knew he'd heard me. I don't know how, I just _felt _it. Another thing I felt was sudden…_fear_. I didn't want to be alone with Dylan anymore. The look in his eyes was _scaring _me.

Dylan stared at me for a second. "I know you don't see it now. Not yet. But you will."

I heard footsteps coming down the hall. Dylan heard them, too. His head snapped up quickly before he looked back at me.

"I know we are meant to be together, Max. I _know_." He stepped closer and pushed me against the wall, hard. My head cracked against it. I gasped in pain, but he didn't notice. "I remember what you don't. I remember everything," he breathed. I just stood there, frozen. "Let me help you…remember."

"Mom?"

I heard Aria before I saw her. I managed to reach out my hand and motion to her to stay outside. Dylan had me pressed against the same wall as the door, so they couldn't see me.

"Ar, wait," Tyler said, out in the hall behind his sister.

"It's untrue?" I challenged softly. "My family, my four kids…it's a lie?"

"Maybe not a lie," Dylan breathed his lips close to my face. "Maybe just…a delusion. You did say he was delusional, didn't you?"

I stared at him. I couldn't even think to hide my shock at this point. _"If you think I can't hold my own, you're delusional."_

I had said that to Fang, right before he'd gone off to make security put us on lockdown. Dylan had been there? He'd heard? But how…

Dylan's thumb reached out and stroked my cheek. I felt something warm and wet on my skin. He pulled his thumb away and looked at it.

"Damn glass," he muttered, but didn't look like he was in any pain. He didn't look like he was feeling anything, really. The glass from the broken frame must've cut him when he grabbed the photo. His thumb was bleeding quite a bit. "But that's what has to happen, when fixing the picture. When creating a new life. Some things are going to get _cut_."

"Move, now." Fang. Fang's voice in the hallway. He must've been talking to our kids.

Dylan heard him, too, and in seconds was across the room and out the window.

"Goddamn it!" I slammed my fist against the wall, feeling my knuckles crunch. Um, _ow_.

Fang was in the room in seconds. The light flicked on and I stared at my hand that was now, thanks to my brilliant idea of hitting hard inanimate objects, throbbing painfully. Fang took my fist and wrapped his hand around it.

"Where…" he trailed off, seeing his office window wide open, the curtains blowing eerily. Our kids and the others all trickled into the room in silence.

"Mom, are you okay?" Tyler immediately asked, seeing the broken frame on the floor.

"Who _was _that guy?" Aria asked in a hushed whisper.

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Fang took my chin in his hand and turned my face toward his.

"What's on your cheek?" Fang asked me softly.

I couldn't say it. I couldn't say that Dylan had smeared his blood on my cheek. Instead, I rolled my fist over in his hand and slowly opened it.

And there was the other half of our picture, clenched in my hand.

**A/N: So even though Fang didn't shoot Dylan, like most of you wanted (sadists)...Dylan did cut his finger. Heh heh. **

**Please review for me!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: So, as you have probably guessed, this story will be longer than the other two...Because otherwise I'd have to end it in the next two or three chapters and that is SO SO SO not happening. I'm looking at about thirty chapters. Guesstimate. **

**Okay, so...yeah...**

I almost couldn't speak, I was so furious with myself. Why had I let him push me around like that?

Why had I let him _get away_?

I felt like a total screw-up, and worse? Fang was _worried _about me. I practically snarled at him when he tried to help me into our stupid limo. We were leaving way early - it was only six - but there was no way in hell any of us wanted to stay after that fiasco. No one spoke on the ride home; even Iggy had the decency to keep his mouth shut.

When we finally got back to the house, everyone could tell that I just wanted them to stay away - far away. I was so angry that I didn't even want to speak to anyone or look at anyone or be around anyone. Everyone started walking toward the house as Iggy broke the long silence to say, "Let's get together some dinner."

I'd had so many opportunities to take him out! He'd stood there, in front of me, totally defenseless! And I'd…stood there, frozen. Like a scared little kid.

Maximum Ride would not have just _stood _there.

"Shut up!"

I froze and slowly turned to face Fang. He stood before me, seething, his eyes full of anger. He hadn't shouted or anything, but it had been loud enough to draw the attention of everyone else. We were standing in the front yard, following the others to the house. Tyler, Brittany and Aria were on the porch, and the three of them spun around to stare at us in shock. Aaron and Iggy were right behind us, both of them wearing alarmed looks. Angel watched knowingly, already onto what Fang was thinking.

"_What_?"

Fang stepped closer to me. Even though he was angry, he was also aware of everyone watching us. "I'm sick of you saying you aren't Max."

"I didn't-"

"Yes, you did," he cut me off. "That's bullshit."

I scoffed.

"You lost your memory," he said. "You didn't become a completely different person!"

He didn't understand! How could he? He'd never been through what I was going through. I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself in check.

_You have no idea what these past two weeks have been like for me. You've got no right!_

Fang stared at me. _If you aren't Max, then whose life do you keep remembering? Whose children are you taking care of? Whose husband are you sleeping next to? _

"You know what I meant," I spat, pushing him away from him. "I've been living off what you tell me! I only remember what you tell me! Now I hate Dylan, I want to kill him, and I don't even know _why_! If I was being myself, then I'd _remember_, Fang. We both know that."

"No, I don't," he said.

"I'm not like I used to be. I'm supposed to be ruthless, violent Max, right? Then why didn't I kick Dylan's ass? Why did I _let him go_?"

Fang, who still looked pissed, stepped back. Just as I thought he was going to leave our argument unfinished, he swooped in, swinging his fist toward my face.

I didn't even have time to gasp. I dodged it immediately, as if my body had secretly known he was going to hit me the whole time. I reached out, grabbed his wrist and twisted, hard. Then I kneed him in the stomach.

"What are you _doing_?" Tyler shouted.

But I knew what Fang was doing.

He was making me see that I still had my reflexes and my ruthlessness. I let go of his fist.

"You didn't kick Dylan's ass because you weren't focused," Fang said, catching his breath and standing upright. "_Not _because you weren't yourself. It happens to the best of us. Was I right or was I right?"

Okay, so he was right.

But I still kind of wanted to hit him for telling me to shut up.

And kind of just because he was right and he was rubbing it in my face.

Fang grinned slightly, obviously catching onto my thoughts. He rolled his shoulders.

"No stomach hits," I said with a warning tone in my voice.

"I wasn't born yesterday," Fang grumbled.

_Should we really do this in front of our kids? _I thought.

_Probably not,_ Fang thought back.

"Oh well," I mumbled, then snapped my foot out to kick him. I caught him hard in the chest and he stumbled. My wings snapped out behind me to help me balance as I lurched forward and sent my fist toward his face.

"Mom!"

I ignored Aria as I focused on Fang. Just Fang, my husband, whom I was locked in a tight hand-to-hand battle with. I caught him in the cheek with my fist and pulled back quickly, hoping to land another hit. He caught my fist, though, and grabbed my arm, twisting me around.

"You can't hurt me," Fang breathed in my ear. "But I love you for trying."

"I can hurt you," I promised. "I _will_."

Fang flipped me over his back, keeping my arms behind me. I bit back a howl of pain. I yanked myself out of his grip, glared at him furiously, then place my hands on his chest and shoved him, hard, sending him careening our mailbox. I sighed, rubbing my shoulder blade and breathing heavy.

"Shit," I panted. Fang stood up, rubbing the back of his head.

He walked over to me. "You good?"

I nodded. "That felt great."

He smirked. I gently touched his cheek, grazing my thumb over his lip. It was bleeding.

"Sorry about that," I said. I raised myself up onto my toes to kiss him, leaning against his chest. The kiss lasted a few moments longer than I'd intended.

"You two are fucked up," Iggy grumbled. "So? Anyone want dinner?"

• • •

"Aunt Nudge, you should have seen it! They didn't stand a chance!"

Nudge grinned at Aria, who was yet again recounting the story of how she showed Brian who was boss.

"Not a scratch on her," Aaron said, making a show out of picking up Aria's arm and inspecting it.

"You wiped the floor with him, didn't you, Chicken?" Iggy asked proudly.

"Of course," she chirped. "One of his friends cried."

Fang grinned at me. I rolled my eyes. We were all sitting around the living room - our dining room was not equipped for more than six people - and eating dinner.

"Even better? I don't have to take my Algebra test tomorrow!"

Angel laughed. "Now I see why you're so excited!"

"Yeah, got two days of ISS. Too bad it isn't OSS, because then I'd get a four-day weekend."

"Yes, and we're very proud of you, but try not to attack kids at school anymore," I said warily.

"Coming from _Max_, really?" Iggy laughed.

"Don't worry, Mom. From now on, I'll strictly attack people outside of school only."

"That's all I ask," I said.

Soon after dinner was finished, Cassidy and Olivia started looking for a movie to watch. Alex was occupied with Carson; the two of them were playing with Legos on the carpet in front of the TV. Aria mumbled something about homework. Tyler took Brittany home.

We moved into the kitchen, where Fang started to load the dishwasher and I sat back and watched him. The others followed us. Ella was holding a conked-out Aiden.

"I have an announcement," Nudge said eagerly. Everyone hushed at the seriousness in her voice.

"Josh got transferred to a base in Arizona."

"Wow," Fang said, being the first one to break the silence. "That's big."

Josh had told me, when we'd gone camping, that he was stationed in Germany. That's why it had always been so hard for Nudge and him to settle down together.

"Nudge, that's great!" Angel asked.

"Yeah," Nudge said. She looked excited. "I mean, it's only a few hours by car. I could fly there in less than two. It's going to be so much easier for us. And I'm so glad, you know, because I'm tired of waiting. We've waited so long to get married…"

"Congrats, Nudge," Iggy said.

"Thanks," she beamed.

"Well, we're gonna head home-" Aaron began.

Then we heard Olivia in the other room. "Uh…Dad?"

Fang, Iggy, Ella and I shared swift, worried glances before running into the living room.

Cassidy and Olivia were sitting on the couch, side by side, their eyes locked on the screen.

_Shit_, Fang thought to me. I could only nod in agreement.

The girls must've gotten into the box of videos Jeb had brought us. This one must've been one of the later videos. The cages were in the same position they had been in the earlier video, all three of them filled.

Suddenly, little Iggy sat up quickly and smashed his head against the top of his cage. He peered out of his cage, blinking rapidly.

"Iggy!" Young Max shouted, leaning over to look at him. Iggy's fingers squeezed through the bars of his cage and Max immediately latched onto him, holding as much of his hand as she could. "Iggy, you've been sleeping for a long time."

"I…" he trailed off.

"Jeb wouldn't tell me'n Fang nothin'," little Max whispered.

Iggy looked frustrated. "Where are we? Why's it so dark in here?"

"We never moved nowhere, open your eyeballs, silly."

"I did!"

"Iggy?"

"Why can't I see? Max, I can't see!"

"Iggy…what do you mean?"

"It's dark, Max…I can't…"

Fang was across the room in seconds, turning the TV off. We all stood there in silence.

"Dad?" Liv whispered, turning to look at Iggy.

Iggy lost it.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" he demanded. He was so angry his voice was shaking.

I took a deep breath. "A security video from the School," I whispered. Now that he knew where I was, he stepped over until he was right in front of me.

"Why do you _have _it? Why would you leave shit like that laying around? What the hell is your problem?" he shouted at me.

Fang came up behind Iggy. "Jeb brought them, to jog Max's memory-"

"Well, did it help?" Iggy spat. "Did it help her remember anything? You know how long I've spent trying to forget what went on in that hellhole? How much we've all tried to get over it? And now you and Fang are making a movie night out of it? Be happy you don't remember it. Be happy and quit trying! Your life sucked! All of our lives sucked! Why would you want to _remember _that? Goddamn it."

Well I just didn't know what to say to that.

Ella stepped between us, putting her hand on Iggy's chest. "Go cool down. Now."

Iggy stormed out of the house. After a moment, Ella went over to Olivia and sat down, pulling her close. Fang started toward the door.

I followed him and grabbed his wrist. He looked me in the eyes and in a second, he knew what I wanted. I walked outside. Iggy was slowly making his way down the driveway, his hands in his pockets. Ella had made him dress up for the event, and he'd untied his tie. It sat open on his shoulders.

I walked up behind him. I cleared my throat.

"Don't," he muttered.

"Don't what?" I asked.

"Don't clear your throat to silently tell me who you are. I already knew it was you. Your footsteps."

Oh.

"I'm sorry, Iggy," I murmured. "We haven't really watched any of them…just a bit of the first one…we should have put them somewhere the kids couldn't find them…I'm sorry."

Iggy didn't say anything for a long time.

"It's been almost thirty years, and I still have nightmares about it," Iggy whispered. "About waking up in complete darkness."

I reached out and grabbed his hand. "I don't know what Ella looks like…What Liv or Aiden look like. I can't read to my kids. I can't drive my wife to dinner. I can barely go anywhere by myself because I don't know the landscape. I've been like this practically my whole life…but I can't just learn to cope. I constantly feel like I'm missing out. I'm just a failure. For El and the kids."

"I can't imagine what that's like," I said. "But, you have all of us here for you. Ella, Liv, Aiden, the whole flock - we all love you no matter what. Trust me, we don't keep you around just for your crude humor."

Iggy cracked a smile and I felt a surge of hope that maybe, just maybe, I hadn't screwed everything up. It was, in fact, my fault; the kids had only been able to find the videos because I'd needed them to help me with my memory. If I hadn't lost my memory in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. Actually, a lot of shit wouldn't have happened.

"But that does play a big part, right?" he whispered.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course. Listen, Iggy. Don't ever feel like you're a failure, okay? You can fly. You can feel colors. You can make any situation awkward because I know for a _fact _that you have a tendency to put your foot in your mouth."

"You left out the fact that I can cook better than you," Iggy said after a second.

I laughed. "That too. See? It doesn't matter that you can't read to your kids or drive a car or go somewhere by yourself. Because you will never be alone. You've got all of us, okay? And don't think you're failing your family because all they need …is you. They don't need you to see them to know that you love them."

I knew anything I said couldn't really fix it, because he'd still be blind. And if I could give him my sight, I would. I would in a second.

But I couldn't.

So I just hugged him, hard, pushing my arms around his neck.

He hugged me back, his arms wrapping securely around my waist. "Shit, Max," he said. He pulled away and ran his hand over my abdomen. "Have you gained weight?" he asked accusingly, mischief in his eyes.

"Watch it."


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Okay, a few things. **

**This chapter is short but important, my apologies. **

**I am about to be **_**booked**_**, people. This week I have yearbook/newspaper camp, so that takes away a lot of writing time and updating time. Straight after camp I leave for an actual camping trip for three days. Then I go on vacation. Then I go to a concert the next state over. Then I go camping again. Then I go camping again. **

**SOMEWHERE in there, I need to do my summer assignment for AP Lit. Still haven't checked what the assignment is, either…hmm. I go back to school August fifteenth and I fully intend to have this story finished by then. Hopefully it goes as planned. **

**Like I said, I think this story will land somewhere around thirty chapters. It is a bit longer than the other two, but I had quite a few things I had to develop in this story. Not only the initial plot - that, I admit, has been slow but is about to get much, much more obvious - but also their family. Also, HOPEFULLY, all questions left over from **_**Choices **_**concerning Evelyn and her plan and all that will be cleared up. **

**Anyways… a great friend of mine, ****desperatelyobvious****, has a new one-shot up! May I just say, it is incredible - just like all her other stories. Go check 'em out and give her some love, you don't know what you're missing!**

**Also, another awesome awesome awesome author on here is ****musikfreakmeg****. Her story After Angel is pretty incredible. Just saying. **

**Chapter 23...**

"I saw you today," I said, leaning back in my desk chair. It was Thursday afternoon, a minute before the release bell. I'd dismissed my class to the locker rooms minutes ago, and now I was just waiting for the bell to ring. Fang had called to tell me he could pick up Cassidy and Alex, which was good, because I had to go to the store after work.

"What?" Fang asked, sounding taken aback.

"Yeah, I kind of spooked my class when I stopped talking and moving for three minutes."

Fang chuckled. "What did you see me doing?" he asked lowly.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I mumbled, watching kids pour into the hallway as the bell rang, signaling their freedom. "If I'd known that was what you meant by working at home-"

I could practically hear him roll his eyes. I laughed. "You were making coffee. Boring, and yet I still wished I was there, too."

"Hmm…you could've called in sick to work," Fang said temptingly. "Or transported home during your plan time."

"Yes, but then I would've had to get back to work without a car."

"What else are wings for?" Fang said.

"Absolutely nothing," I responded. I jumped when Tyler transported to my office, appearing right in front of me. He had his backpack slung over his should uncaringly.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

I held my phone against my shoulder, looking up at him. "Either you walk to the elementary school to meet Dad or you get a ride home from friends."

"What are _you _doing?" he asked.

"Going to the store. Apparently Aria ate the rest of the food in the house today, according to your dad. I'm guessing they tag-teamed it."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. Jesus, he looked just like Fang. "And _I _can't go to the store?"

"You want to?" I asked, just as challenging.

He paused. "No. I'll get a ride with Dad."

"Get goin'."

He transported and I was alone.

"Tyler's going home with you. He'll meet you at the elementary school."

"Okay. I - I'll talk to you later."

I bit my lip. "Okay. Bye."

He had been about to say something else.

Something we hadn't said yet. Well, we as in amnesia-Max and Fang hadn't said it to each other. Old-Max and Fang had said it all the time, I was sure.

I sighed and got up from my desk. Once the busses had carried away all the students and the parking lot was more or less cleared of staff vehicles, I got in the van and headed for the grocery store.

Two hours and a mountain of groceries later, I was in the check-out line at the store. My feet and back felt like death. Next time Fang asked me to go do the shopping, I was going to play the over-worked-pregnant-wife card.

"The Ride Family Comes Out For Fresh Air," a voice read behind me.

My entire body stiffened.

"Don't make me kick your ass in public, Dylan. I will do it."

Dylan threw down a magazine behind my stuff on the counter. The cover of the magazine showed Fang and I walking into his building. Aria, Tyler and Brittany were visible, too. The woman checking out my groceries glanced up for a moment, but went back to her job silently. I didn't even turn around.

"It's Fang's fault you hate me," Dylan said, his voice full of sorrow. "You knew nothing about me with your memory wiped, didn't even know who I was, but now you hate me.

He's shone me in a bad light. Told you only of my mistakes."

"Maybe it's just my natural instinct to hate you," I muttered.

"No, no, no sweetheart," Dylan breathed, stepping so close to me that I can feel his breath on my neck. "Definitely not."

The cashier told me my total, her eyes locked on Dylan. I stepped forward and slid my credit card.

"Have a great day, Mrs. Ride," she said.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing my cart. I started toward the exit. I heard her ask Dylan if that was all he was buying, and he said he didn't want it and ran after me. I bit my lip.

Maybe if he followed me, I could back over him with my van.

"Max, wait!"

I stopped at the trunk of my van, hoisted it up, and started piling groceries in the back. Dylan tried to help me.

"Don't touch my things. I _will _rip your throat out."

He stood back, watching me load the car with my stuff.

"I think we need to sit down and talk," Dylan said.

"After your psycho display in my husbands office? I don't think so. You're lucky I haven't already busted your ass for it."

Why _hadn't _I? Shouldn't I have thrown him to the ground and started whaling on him the moment he appeared in the check-out behind me?

Well, it would have been very bad publicity, not to mention a possible arrest for assault…

But still.

"I…lost control," Dylan said. He scratched his head. This Dylan was nothing like the Dylan I saw last night. Last night, he was emotionless and nonhuman. Now he was different. Now he looked almost…sheepish. "That wasn't how last night was supposed to go. But I saw the two of you…my reaction wasn't what I'd expected."

I slammed my trunk door closed and grabbed the cart, heading to a cart-return spot a row of cars away. He fell into step next to me.

"How _was _last night supposed to go?" I demanded snootily.

"We were supposed to talk," Dylan said. "I wanted you to let me explain-"

"What do you have to explain to me? Why you're _stalking _me?"

Dylan frowned. "I'm trying to reconnect with you. You're making it incredibly difficult."

I shoved the cart into the return and spun to look up at him seriously.

"I don't know who you are, and from what I've seen and heard, I don't _want _to," I said. I figured that would hurt him more than any punch could. I was right - he froze and stared at me. Even when I started toward the van once more, he stayed frozen in that spot.

Just as I opened the door to the van, Dylan shouted, "I didn't mean for you to lose your memory, Max! It was never apart of the plan! Ask Evelyn - it was a mistake."

And my heart jumped into my throat.

**A/N: Ohhhhhh….What next? Review to find out - hopefully on Wednesday! **


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I apologize for this chapter. It kind of sucks. Each sentence I wrote, I just looked at it and thought: "Dafuq? I can do better than that."**

**But my brain just refused to work. I wrote this today in three hours. I'm running on, like, five hours of sleep. I seriously need a nap. **

**Read on.**

"It's like you're locking your mind in. Imagine walls keeping everyone out but yourself," Angel coached me on the phone. I sighed, focusing. She'd been trying to teach me how to block my mind over the phone ever since I'd left the store.

While I was silent, imagining little Maxes building brick walls around the perimeter of my brain, Angel said, "I have a feeling this has to do with Fang? He's always been better at reading your mind than you've been at reading his. What do you not want him to hear?"

I sighed.

"Fine," Angel said quickly. "Don't tell me. But it's probably better to just be honest with him."

And tell him what, exactly? That his mother is working with Dylan again? That Dylan had something to do with my losing my memory? That it's even worse than we thought - someone isn't trying to hurt me, they're trying to hurt _him_?

No. I just…I needed to figure everything out before I told Fang. I needed to know what Evelyn could tell me. I needed to go to see her - in prison. If Fang knew that was y plan, he would never let me out of his sight.

While this plan to go force answers out of Evelyn formed in my mind, I realized that I needed to put the groceries in my trunk away. Which meant I had to go home.

"I'll talk to you later, Angel," I said. I turned at the next stop light in town, heading towards home. Now I'd have to come up with an excuse to leave. "Thanks for the help."

"No problem, Max."

Twenty minutes later, I pulled into the driveway. I could see a few forms up in the sky, swooping in the fading sunlight. It must've been around four.

Tyler came out of the house to greet me. "Hey, Mom."

"Groceries," I said, pointing to the trunk. He nodded and started unloading the van. Fang and Cassidy landed in the yard, both looking wind-blown.

"Mom! Dad just taught me the coolest trick - wanna see?"

Then, without waiting for an answer, she ran off and shot into the air again. Fang came up to me and wrapped his arms around me, planting a quick kiss on my mouth.

"How was shopping?"

Immediately, I thought of Dylan. I frantically tried to block my mind, imagining brick walls up, like Angel had said. Fang gave me a strange look.

"It was fine. I'm just stressed."

"Considering all that's happened these past few days, I'd say you're allowed to be stressed."

Suddenly, the best excuse popped into my mind. "Do you mind getting the kids fed and everything? I think I'm going to go see Mom."

Fang stared at me for a second. "Yeah. You driving?"

"I'd rather fly," I mumbled. Fang nodded again. I figured that was it, so I started to turn away from him. He grabbed my wrist.

"Max."

I looked at him.

"The last time you said that to me, you didn't come home." He kissed my temple, his hands gentle around my stomach. "Come home."

I smiled, but my stomach flopped and I almost couldn't look him in the eyes. "I will. Don't worry about me."

"I always worry about you," Fang mumbled. He shaded his eyes and caught Cassidy's attention. She circled down and landed right next to us.

"Did you even watch?" she asked accusingly.

Fang smirked. "Go inside and clean up." She ran into the house.

"I'll be back in a few hours," I said. Fang watched me take off down the driveway.

• • •

"Evelyn Wilson," I said to the man at the desk. He looked me up and down.

"Mrs. Ride, Evelyn Wilson isn't supposed to see more than one visitor per month-"

"I'm sorry," I said tightly, my adrenaline pumping. "I'm here to visit Evelyn Wilson."

He sighed, standing up. He had a ring full of keys in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other.

"One minute."

So I stood in the tiny security guard's office while he retrieved Evelyn. After a few minutes, he came back for me with another guard by his side. They escorted me down a dim, dull hallway to a room with a small window in the door.

As one opened the door, I stepped ahead of them. He held out his hand in front of me.

"We will be coming in, too."

"I would rather we talk in private," I said.

"Wilson is not allowed to be alone with her visitors-"

I cocked my head, glaring at him. "Do I look fragile to you?"

After a moment of hesitation, the two guards stepped back and let me into the room. The door shut firmly behind me.

It was a small room. In the middle was a metal table. On one side, the side farthest from the door, Evelyn sat stiffly in a chair. Her hands were cuffed to the table and though she was chained, she still managed to look intimidating. There was a single seat across the table from her.

I could tell Fang got his looks from his mother. The similarities were everywhere: in her face, in her hair, in her eyes. It almost made me sick to look at her.

"Am I allowed to refuse visitors?" she asked. When I said nothing, she sigh and leaned back in her chair. I sat down across from her.

A million questions were running through my mind. One was _Why the hell does she look so good? _She was in _jail_. Weren't prisoners supposed to beat each other up? Especially _women _prisoners. You'd think they'd be pretty ruthless, yeah?

Why hadn't Evelyn been beat up yet? I felt like asking. Then I realized, I had a better question to ask.

Before I could even open my mouth, Evelyn said, "He came to me a few weeks ago. Dylan."

Okay, so I had not expected her to willingly give me any information. I stared at her, willing her to keep going.

She cocked her head, then. "How's my daughter?"

I was not expecting that.

"I know you took her," she said. "You took everything from me."

"I'm not here to talk about Emma," I said firmly. "Dylan told me that you had something to do with my memory loss."

"Dylan has become quite the mastermind," Evelyn said. Her eyes were constantly examining me, as if watching to see what my triggers were. I made myself impassive. "I never quite understood it - his interest in you. He wanted you so bad. I told him I could give him power. Money. But he wanted you."

I stared at her.

"I had nothing to do with you losing your memory. Dylan came to me almost two months ago, telling me he'd found you. He started planning how he was going to talk you into running off with him…the poor man. To be so insanely locked on a woman who won't give him the time of day. Then a few weeks ago, he told me he made a mistake."

She started examining her fingernails as she spoke, her eyes flashing up to mine every once in a while. "You see, Dylan had an assistant. A young guy he found to help him with his plan. This man's job was just to get you to Dylan. Easy. Simple. Dylan's only problem was that he'd chosen an assistant with no intelligence. I guess that is something he and I share. When I chose Dylan to become apart of The Cleanse, I didn't realize that his love for you would end up ruining _everything_."

I sat forward, "The Cleanse - is that what you called your plan?"

Evelyn tsked. "Don't interrupt the story."

I frowned at her. She smiled, clearly enjoying this. Finally I snapped, "Just tell me what Dylan did to remove my memory!"

If I could just know what happened to me, how Dylan had taken my memory, then maybe there was a way to get it back!

Evelyn's face set into a serious, almost angry look. "Dylan told me nothing important. He came here, ranting to me about this assistant who screwed up. He told me that you had lost your memory and that it was ruining his entire plan. Dylan must be playing with something that is extremely powerful - especially for him."

I watched her carefully. "Tell me what The Cleanse was."

"Sorry, dear," Evelyn said, her voice smug. "Family secret. But I'll make you a deal: Bring my little Emma to visit me, and I'll tell her _all _about it."

I shook my head.

Evelyn sighed, feigning sadness. As if she could really feel any emotion at all. "You know what it's like to be a mother, Maximum. My only child, and you'll keep her from me? You wouldn't."

"What about your son?" I asked, my voice strong.

Evelyn didn't even flinch. "What son?"

I stood up. "You're a horrible mother. How could you be so disgusting? After everything you did to Fang, everything you put him through? How can you even call yourself a mother?"

"I could say the same to you," Evelyn said. "A miscarriage, isn't that the greatest failure of motherhood? At least my daughter _lived_."

My heart stopped, my breath caught in my throat. I pounded on the door, demanding the guards to let me out. The door flew open, both of them at the ready. Their postures relaxed when they saw Evelyn leaning back in her chair, humming a soft tune and smiling at me.

I pushed my way out of the room and down the hall, straight out of the building.

So much for figuring it out.

I was more clueless than ever before.

I fumbled with my phone, feeling numb. I would've flown home, but I felt as if I would throw up if I took one more step.

"Yeah? Max?"

I let out a loose, shaky breath, leaning my head back against the brick wall. It was already dark outside, a chilly air sweeping through the streets.

"Aaron? Are you working?"

• • •

It was later than I thought it was. When I climbed into Aaron's cruiser, I saw that it was almost nine. I sat down and strapped myself in. Aaron stared at me until I felt like his eyes were burning holes in my head. I turned to look at him.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"Funny," he said, pulling away from the curb. "This doesn't _look _like Dr. M's."

"Don't give me the lecture," I groaned, pushing out of my sneakers. My feet were reaching new levels of _ouch_. "I seriously don't need to hear it."

"Lectures are for sixteen-year-olds that I pull over for doing fifteen over the speed limit. I was just going to tell you that you better have a damn good explanation."

I grumbled. "I plead emotionally unstable."

"So you have no reason to be lurking outside the women's penitentiary at eight thirty, while your family thinks you're at your mother's?"

"…impulsive decision making combined with raging hormones."

"We spent years helping Fang get over it," Aaron said. "Years, Max. I hope to God you didn't talk to her."

"I had to," I said. "Dylan said-"

"You know what your problem is? You're trusting the wrong people. You're trusting _Dylan_, a guy who doesn't deserve anything from you. Don't give him the time of day. If you really want to give him something, give him a restraining order. And Evelyn…she should rot in jail."

I sighed, looking out the window. We were leaving the city behind and slowly weaving our way through a back road, every second getting closer to home. Closer to confronting Fang. I couldn't lie to him. I had to tell him where I'd been.

"She is a vile human being," I said quietly.

Aaron nodded. "Yeah, she is."

"Dylan took my memory." I turned my head to look at him. Aaron shot me a glance as he turned down another gravel road.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "How?"

"I don't know how. I just know that today at the store, he told me that erasing my memory was an accident."

I could see our house. Aaron slowed the car and looked at me as we crept closer and closer. The house still looked very much alive, most of the windows lit up with light.

"Can you promise me something?" Aaron said, pulling into the driveway.

"What?"

"Talk to him about it," Aaron said.

I reached down and grabbed my shoes from the floorboard. "See you, Aaron."

"Bye, Max."

I climbed out of the car and walked up to the door in my socks. I glanced back to see Aaron waiting in his car. He was going to make sure I got inside, I guess. As I reached for the doorknob, the front door swung open. Fang stood there, holding the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, I'll tell her," he said, his eyes blazing as he looked at me, then back at Aaron's cruiser. He hung up and shoved the phone into my hands. I could hear the kids in the living room behind him.

"That was your mom," Fang said quietly, his voice void of emotion. "She made you an appointment for next Thursday at the clinic."

I sighed, looking at him. Fang raised his hand to thank Aaron for driving me home. I watched him pull out of the driveway. Fang stepped out onto the porch, too, and closed the door.

"I'm confused," I said, looking at him. I saw his jaw tighten as he passed me and leaned against the railing of the porch.

"That makes two of us," Fang said.

"I didn't mean to lie to you-"

"You _accidentally _told me you were going to your mom's, when you knew you weren't?"

"I…I wanted to figure things out."

"Me too," Fang said. "God, I want to figure things out, Max. But how can I when you won't tell me what the hell's going on?"

"I didn't want to upset you."

"You lied to me."

"I'm…sorry," I said.

Fang turned around to face me. "Where _did _you go?"

"I went to see Evelyn," I said softly. "I had questions for her."

Fang shook his head, looking past me. He was radiating anger, now. "Really? _You _had questions for her? That's fucking great, Max. I hope you two had a great time catching up."

"I know that you-"

"You _don't _know," Fang said, cutting me off. He kept his voice low, but the anger was crystal clear. "You have no _idea_. You don't remember, and even if you did, you weren't there. Do you understand me? I am the only one who really gets it because I'm the only one who went through it."

"Dylan told me today-"

"You see?" Fang scoffed, glaring at me. "Dylan told you _this_, Dylan told you _that_. He's trying to pull us apart. That's his whole plan. He's trying to make you doubt me. The worst part is, it's working."

"I'm not doubting you!" I said with frustration. "He accidentally spilled today, at the store. He told me that erasing my memory was never apart of his plan and that it was an accident. Don't you see? He did this to me, Fang. And then he mentioned Evelyn, and I-"

"Don't say her name," Fang said. "Don't talk about her at all. I don't care if she's the one who did this to you or not. I can't believe you went to visit her, gave her the satisfaction of seeing you desperate for answers. I can't believe you."

"I had to know," I said. "It would be different if it was you. If you knew that someone could solve the mystery of how you lost your memory-"

"I still wouldn't have lied to you about it. Do you not trust me at all?"

"I trust you," I said, staring at my feet. "I'm just tired of not knowing. I knew if I told you where I was going, you'd lock my inside and never let me see the light of day again. I'm sorry I lied to you. I didn't get any information anyways. But I had to try," I said, my voice shaking. I cursed myself in my head as my eyes got hot. "I am _so _tired of not knowing…"

Fang pulled me against him. "We're going to figure it out," Fang murmured. "But you _have _to let me help you."

I shook my head, burying my face in his chest.

"I'm done thinking about it," I mumbled. "Done worrying everyday about being stalked. Done wondering when I'll get my memory back. I just need to _escape _it all."

Fang easily lifted me and sat me on the railing of the porch. He wrapped his arms around my waist. "You know what we need?"

"A vacation?" I offered, closing my eyes and leaning against him. I felt him shrug, his hands rubbing my lower back comfortingly. I let myself sink into his arms, thankful that he didn't hate me for screwing everything up. _I _kind of hated me. I wished I could just take the whole day and start over. But, I couldn't.

"I was going to say honeymoon…"

**A/N: Yeah I suck. Right now it is 5:30pm on Sunday. Yes, I realize that I said Wednesday in my last update. Then I totally passed out Wednesday after camp, left for a camping trip on Thursday, and just got back. I am a horrible person. **

**TheNightOwl: Oh, jeez. Please don't kick my ass, I am so exhausted I'd probably just lay down and wait for it to be over. **

**larafares96: I love rants. You rock. Thanks for giving my stories a chance!**

**eliezha: Oh my goodness. Thank you so much!**

**Person: Look at that! You didn't miss a chapter on Wednesday afterall! Hope you had/are having a great trip - sounds awesome. **

**So many of you deserve a response. I sadly don't have time right now, but I will soon! Thank you all SO much for being awesome. Really. I have 590 reviews that I don't even deserve. This is so surreal. **


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I was not going to update again today because I didn't have the energy. Then my dad brought me a caramel frappe from McDonalds. **

**It's like he **_**knew**_**. **

**Now sleeping is out of the question and I just want to…do stuff. **

**I just saw a commercial for a show about a police officer in a wheelchair and the announcer guy said, "That's just how he rolls." Oh, dear Lord. Television, get yourself together. **

**Read on. **

Fang and I read five entries of my diary that night. We sat in bed, passing the book back and forth. Finally, around ten thirty, Fang took the book from me and opened it to the next entry.

_Journal, _

_I have to write it down. I have to write down what happened, no matter how much I just wish I could forget. I wish I could forget it all. The entire pregnancy._

I put my hand on the journal and push it down, looking at him. "Not this one," I pleaded softly. Evelyn's words were still ricocheting in my head. I couldn't handle reading about our stillborn daughter again.

Fang leaned over and kissed my temple. He pushed his arm around my waist. Our legs were tangled together, my head on his shoulder. I sighed.

"Do you want to read the next one?" he asked softly.

I shook my head. "You."

He sighed and held the book on our laps, reading quietly.

_Journal, _

_Nothing was the same. _

_Fang tried. He tried so hard. But no matter what I did, I couldn't stop thinking about her. About our daughter. About how unfair it all was. _

_For the first month after the miscarriage, we didn't even speak. We were strangers living in the same home. Strangers raising two toddlers together. He'd go to work and I'd stay with the kids, and when he got home I'd find an excuse to spend the night at my mom's. Then I'd go to work and he'd stay with Ty and Aria. We barely even gave each other a passing glance. _

I watched Fang as he read the entry. It was hard for him to read about that time in our lives, I could tell. It was hard for me to even hear about it. But, obviously, Fang remember it clearly. And it hurt him.

_We were falling apart, growing away from each other. Fang and I both knew it. So, last night, he came into the bedroom while I was getting out of my work clothes and told me that he wanted to take me to dinner. _

_I was nervous, which was stupid. I agreed and spent at least thirty minutes trying to find something to wear. I felt like I needed to impress him, needed to make him love me again. I pretty much hated myself these days, and I figured he felt the same way. _

_Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I thought about it. That day replayed in my mind constantly. _

_She was my daughter. I was supposed to do _everything _in my power to protect her. And ultimately, I hadn't. I had let her down. Now my beautiful baby girl, who had so much potential, so much opportunity - would never become anything. And it was my fault. _

_How could he _want _me after that? _

_We went out to a nice restaurant. We barely talked. It was like there was nothing between us at all. We used to be so easygoing around each other - so calm and comfortable. But this…this was a whole new level awkward. _

_When we left the restaurant, we both silently got into the car. Fang closed his door and looked at me, sighing. After a minute, he started to drive home. _

_When we got there, I went up to our room to get dressed for bed. I'd just slipped out of my shirt and Fang came up to me, wrapping his arms around my naked waist from behind. Immediately I tensed up. _

_He started kissing my neck and shoulder. Slowly my body relaxed into him. He told me that he missed me, that he didn't know what to do, and he confessed that he wanted nothing more than to make everything right again. _

_He spun me around gently and kissed me on the mouth. I was so afraid, afraid of my own husband, that I stayed frozen as he kissed me. He moved me to the bed, laid me down. Did he really think this would fix it? Did he really think it would help? It was almost like he couldn't think of any other solution, and this was his last resort. He was kissing me like it was his last chance. _

_Soon, my fear got the best of me. As Fang tried to get me out of my pants, I told him to stop. He did. His eyes lifted to stare into mine and we looked at each other for a long time. _

"_I'm sorry," I whispered, rolling onto my side away from him. I buried my head in my pillow. I felt Fang lay next to me on the bed. "I love you, Fang, but I can't." _

_Fang said nothing. _

_He slept on the couch. _

_I didn't sleep at all. _

Fang tossed the worn leather book to the floor and took me in his arms, kissing my mouth gently. He whispered against my lips, "I'm sorry. So sorry. That was such a bad time for us…but we made it. We're okay. God, Max, I'm sorry."

I gave him another quick kiss, then pulled back, running my hands through his hair.

"When do we leave for our honeymoon?" I asked.

"As soon as you get off work tomorrow," Fang said. "I already checked with Ella and Ig - they said they'd check in on the kids every once in a while. We'll come home Sunday night."

"Where is the cabin?"

"Upstate. Three hours or so. By car, of course."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"For what? This is totally for me."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for giving me the escape I needed."

"Oh, you're welcome," Fang murmured. "You'll just owe me later."

• • •

_They are standing in the mouth of their spot. Their cave. _

_Max leans forward, staring up at the never-ending sky, the bright twinkling stars. The night sky stretches on forever, becomes the definition of infinity before her very eyes. She can't stop looking at the stars - each time she blinks, she notices a few more breaking through the darkness._

"_You know, I like sharing dreams and all," Max says, "But we spend too much time together." _

"_Yeah, I think you're right," Fang agrees. "We should stop hanging out."_

_Then he chuckles and pulls her backwards into the cave. It's so dark that she can't see him, even with her super sight. She can barely make out his silhouette. But, she decides, that makes it better. It's more exciting this way. More intimate. His body is pressing against hers, pushing her down against the large, flat rock they sat on last time. She curls her arms around his neck, kissing him slowly. _

"_Eh, maybe I'll keep you around," she muses. _

"_Yeah?" _

"_Yeah."_

_He kisses her again, harder this time, but gradually she can barely feel it. _

"_I'm waking up," she mumbles. Each word feels like a struggle. Waking up from a dream feels kind of like falling asleep; it's hard to focus on anything or do anything productive. Eventually, your mind escapes the dream to reality, just like your mind escapes reality to dream._

"_Me too," Fang says. He feels fuzzy, too. _

_Max fades first. _

I sat up in bed, taking a deep breath and looking around. I grabbed the alarm clock and stared at it until my eyes registered what 2:53 meant. Three in the morning? Why were Fang and I waking up at three in the morning?

"Mommy!" I heard. It was a hushed call. Someone banged their fist once on our door.

I swung my legs out of bed around the same time Fang woke up. "What's goin' on?" he grumbled, rolling over.

I swung the door open to see Alex standing there in his dark green pajamas, holding his blanket.

"It's wasn't even locked, silly," I mumbled, picking him up and swinging him onto my hip.

"Daddy told me I can't just walk into rooms. I have to knock."

I glanced at Fang, who had turned on the lamp by our bed. He squinted at me.

_Precautionary measures, _he thought. I rolled my eyes.

"I can't sleep," Alex said.

"Why not?" I asked, standing by the foot of my and Fang's bed.

"Because," Alex said, wiggling out of my arms and jumping onto the mattress, "your bed is comfier."

He crawled under the covers and curled up next to Fang, then patted the bed beside him.

"Come on, Mommy."

Fang grinned at me as I laid down.

"Goodnight!" he chirruped.

"Goodnight, Alex," Fang said with the hint of a smile in his voice.

"Goodnight," I said, rolling over to face him. I tickled his stomach. "You're lucky you're cute, mister."

• • •

"If you interrupt us this time," I heard Fang hiss to Iggy, "I'll rip your head off."

"Fair warning," Iggy laughed, holding Aiden casually with one hand. "I will stay away from all things explosive. At least, until you get back."

Fang threw his bag into the back of the truck, next to mine.

I scooped Alex up off the ground and kissed his cheek. "Be good for Mommy. If they misbehave, call and rat them out."

Alex grinned up at me. "I will!"

"We aren't going to misbehave!" Tyler insisted. Brittany was over again, as usual for Friday nights. She and Tyler were sitting on the railing of the porch, watching us. "We're perfect children."

Aria hugged me goodbye, then Fang. "Don't worry about us. Tyler doesn't allow anything fun, anyways. He'll probably make us sit around and watch the Discovery channel or something."

Iggy laughed. "Your mom made us do that, too, when we were kids. It was called school."

"I envy your version of school, Mom," Tyler said.

I rolled my eyes, hugging Ella.

"Make good choices," Fang said, kissing Aria's head. "We'll be back on Sunday."

"What time on Sunday? Rough estimate," Aria said.

"Late," I said, walking toward the truck.

"Bye! Have fun!" Cassidy called from the porch, where she stood next to Liv.

Iggy grabbed my wrist, "But not _too _much fun."

I rolled my eyes.

If Iggy thought I would start listening to him now, about _this_, he was mental.

**A/N: Please review for chapter 24 and chapter 25! Tell me if they were okay. **

**Peace. **


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: This chapter has a lot of memories in it and a LOT of fluff. Sorry. Try not to suffocate. I almost did. **

**Yikes. **

**THANK YOU so much for the reviews. Incredible. **

**Oh, and by the way: I suggest you go read every book written by Lisa Schroeder. She's amazing. She writes in verse, and it is so freaking perfect. I wish I was as cool as Lisa Schroeder.**

**Reaaad. **

I recognized the cabin immediately.

"Bring back any memories?"

I grinned, sitting up straight in the passenger seat. My eyes scanned the small brown cabin, the forest of pine trees, the snow-covered mountains in the distance. "Are you kidding?"

I could remember our first attempt at a honeymoon.

_Fang pushed me back against the front door to the cute little cabin and fumbled with the keys for a second. Then, the firm door behind me gave way, and Fang walked me backwards into the warm room. He dropped our bags and lifted me up into his arms. Thank God I had changed into jeans and a shirt, because wrapping my legs around him would've been near impossible in that dress. _

"_You wore a belt on our honeymoon," I mused, kissing him as I struggled with his belt buckle. "That's just bad planning." _

_Fang chuckled, walking me into the bedroom and plopping me down on the bed. _

_We hadn't done anything in two months, which meant we could barely contain ourselves now. It was crazy how fast we were pushing each other's clothes off. _

"_I'm pregnant," I gasped, pushing him back a bit so I could look into his eyes. Fang smashed a kiss to my mouth. _

"_Take a test?" _

_I moaned against his lips, wriggling under him. "And passed with flying colors."_

_Fang grinned. He held up a small box then threw it across the room uncaringly. "I guess we don't need these, then."_

_He moved down and kissed my naked stomach, whispering, "I love you." _

_I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or the baby. _

_We pulled the blankets over ourselves, wrapped around each other, and of course that moment was when the phone started to ring. _

"_Damn it," Fang groaned. _

"_Answer it," I said reluctantly. Fang leaned over and grabbed his phone. _

"_Someone better be dying," Fang growled, his eyes locked on mine. _

_In seconds, his face went from angry to troubled. _

"_What?" I asked, sitting up. "Is it Tyler?" _

_He shook his head. "Okay, El, calm down. We're coming home." He hung up. "Iggy blew himself up." _

_I stared at him in shock. "That littler fucker."_

Fang parked the truck in front of the cabin and I reached back, grabbing our bags. It was already about 8pm.

At the door, Fang took our bags from me and headed into the bedroom. I, on the other hand, wandered into the small kitchen. There was an envelope on the table addressed to us.

_Decided I might as well do something, considering it is my fault you have to redo the whole honeymoon thing. Don't get too crazy. Warning: every meal in the refrigerator is an aphrodisiac. _

_Thank me later, Ig._

Ella had obviously written it. I curiously walked over to the fridge only to find it packed with already-made meals. (I decided to ignore the fact that the inside of the door was filled with cans of whipped cream and chocolate sauce, when there was in fact no ice cream.)

"What do you want for dinner?" I called, digging through the containers. Fang came up behind me, grabbed a can of whipped cream, and tilted his head back, spraying it into his mouth.

I rolled my eyes. "Ig left us, like, a week's worth of dinners. Let's make one, I'm starving."

"Okay," Fang said. He took over the dinner job and I snuck out of the kitchen. I went into the bedroom, looking around. It looked the same as I remembered it. I saw Fang had dropped our bags in front of the dresser.

"I'm taking a shower," I called down the hallway as I swung my bag up onto the bed. I unzipped it and found a new set of clothes to put on. I felt like I needed to wash away the day.

The bathroom was small, the color scheme green. I set my clothes on the counter and climbed into the shower. After about twenty minutes, Fang rapped on the door.

"Food's ready."

"Okay," I said, reluctantly turning the faucet off. I reached out and grabbed one of the towels on the rack and wrapped it around myself. I stepped out of the shower, turned on the vents because the steam was thick and overwhelming, and cleared the mirror. I quickly dried off. As I was pulling my shirt over my head, I saw something on the back of my neck.

Curious, I tried to look more closely at it. That proved to be a ridiculous plan, since it was practically impossible to inspect my own neck. I pulled on the rest of my clothes and walked into the kitchen, where Fang had set the small table for dinner. There were two plates piled with some kind of pasta and a plate of garlic bread in the center of the table. Fang was at the counter making us drinks.

"Yum, smells good," I said. I walked over to him. "There's something on my neck."

Distractedly, Fang asked, "What?"

"Something small on my neck. It's black. Will you look?"

Fang set the pitcher of whatever beverage he was pouring on the counter and looked at me before spinning me around forcefully and pushing my hair away.

Then he laughed.

"What?" I asked. I remembered that time in the cave before we knew we were pregnant with Tyler, when I thought I was dying. I'd been afraid of something on my neck. Now there _was _something, and he was laughing?

"It's your tattoo," Fang said, grabbing one of the glasses. "Scared the hell out of me. Here."

He handed me a glass of something. I took a sip. It was sweet tea.

"Tattoo? Since when do I have a tattoo?"

"We got 'em on our first anniversary," Fang said. He sat down at the table. I joined him.

"What is it of?" I asked.

"It says Fang."

I stared at him. "Why would I get your name tattooed on my neck?"

"Because you refused to put it in any of the other spots I suggested," he said, smirking. "And it isn't really on your neck. It's on your upper back, between your shoulder blades."

"So, we both got them?"

"Yeah," he said, taking a bite. "Mine's right between my wings. Says Max."

I figured getting a tattoo between your wings would be pretty damn painful, considering the skin there is really sensitive. I dug into my dinner, too. "Why did we get each other's names?"

"Day of our wedding, Nudge made us write letters to each other that we'd open on our first anniversary. She found it on the internet or something. Anyways, we opened them, and then we got the tattoos. Your tattoo is my signature from the letter. Mine is yours."

I took a long drink of tea. "That's really obsessive, if you think about it."

Fang raised his eyebrow. "How?"

"I got my husband's signature forever inked into my skin," I deadpanned.

"When you put it that way," he chuckled.

"This is amazing," I said, finishing my pasta. "We should kidnap Iggy and make him cook for us everyday."

"He practically does already," Fang said, taking our plates to the sink. "Anything we don't eat this weekend, we're taking back with us."

"Deal," I said, leaning back in my chair. "Hey, Fang?"

"What?"

"What song did we dance to at our wedding?"

Fang turned to look at me. "…Don't hit me."

"That's a weird name for a song-"

"No, I'm just saying…you're gonna want to hit me."

"Why? What was it?"

Fang stared at me. "I don't know."

I stood up. "How could you _not know_?"

"We…weren't there…"

"_What_?"

Fang held his arms in front of him, as I moved closer to him. "It was your idea to ditch. You didn't want everyone staring at us while we danced. So we just…ran off for a while."

"Are you serious? You let me do that?"

"I didn't want everyone staring at us, either!" he insisted. I laughed. Fang smirked and pulled me into his arms.

"You remember how I said I was going to try to find our wedding video?" Fang murmured. I pulled back, turning my face to look up at him in excitement.

"I spent at least an hour today looking for it," Fang said. He dragged me into the bedroom and pulled a laptop and a DVD out of his bag.

"I want to watch it," I said. "Now. Come on, let's watch it."

He grinned. We climbed onto the bed and I pulled up the covers around us because it was freezing. Fang booted up his computer and put the DVD in. I turned off the lamp by the bed, submerging the room in darkness. Soon, the screen lit up and the video was playing.

"_What _is on my butt?" I asked, staring at the screen.

Fang chuckled against my hair, his arms tightening around my stomach. "You ripped your dress and Nudge creatively stitched it up with bobby pins." I couldn't help but laugh. We watched as the Justice of Peace told us to say our vows. It was my turn first. I stayed completely silent.

I reached over and paused it.

"What are you doing?" Fang asked softly.

"I remember," I said, closing my eyes. "We'd written our own vows, and I was supposed to read mine first, but I was so nervous…"

Fang kissed my temple. He played the video again.

The Fang in the video leaned over and spoke to the Justice of Peace. He then said, "Max and Fang would like to say their vows privately, in their minds."

I looked relieved on camera. Fang pulled me toward him and rested his forehead on mine. I closed my eyes. In the video, I didn't say it out loud, but I could remember what I'd said to him in my mind.

_Fang, I can't imagine life without you. Which is super cheesy, but true. You're my best friend in the entire world. I love you more than anything and anyone, and that scares the hell out of me…but I know that I can trust you with anything. You're always there for me. Speaking of, thanks for letting us do this in our heads because there's no way I would've gotten through this without bawling. _

Onscreen, Fang grinned at me. He pushed my hair behind my ear and began thinking his vows to me. Off screen, next to me in bed, Fang whispered his vows in my ear. "It's funny, because we've had the worst luck all our lives. But at the end of the day, I think we're just the luckiest people on earth. I get to live the rest of my life with my best friend. I always knew it was you. It's always been you. I love you, Max. And even though you really annoy the shit out of me most of the time, I won't stop loving you for the rest of my life. I'm yours, 100%."

The Max onscreen was crying just as much as I was at that point. I pushed Fang's laptop closed and the room plunged into darkness. I turned, grabbed his face, ran my thumb over his lips, and pulled him down to kiss me. My entire body responded to his mouth. It was a slow, careful kiss. Our lips danced slowly against each other, sending tingles down my spine. I felt something swelling inside me, a feeling that was quickly taking over me.

I pulled back and caressed his cheek, breathing out, "I love you."

I didn't stutter, and I didn't hesitate. I loved him. I loved him more than anything, and he knew it. Fang grinned down at me, his hands grabbing my hips and pulling me down so I was lying under him, my head on the pillow.

"I knew that video was going to get me laid," he groaned, slowly pushing up my shirt and kissing up my belly.

I pulled in a nervous laugh. "It wasn't so much the video. More like the cheesy, romantic monologue that won me over."

"Okay, my romantic talk might be a little rusty," Fang said gruffly. "But I could always just talk dirty to you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," I warned.

"I would never," Fang breathed, kissing me. He pulled my shirt up over my head, his warm mouth falling on my neck. We kept at it for a while, pushing at each other's clothes. The memories were overwhelming. I closed my eyes and let my memory of our first time transport me to the past.

"_You have weird thoughts," Fang said to me._

"_I know."_

"_I love you."_

"_I know that, too." I pulled him back, grabbing his chin. My ring glinted, but just slightly since the lights were out and the only brightness was he moon shining through the window. I stared up at him. We were so close now, his body completely against mine. His lips were on my neck. I needed him, maybe in a way I'd never needed anyone before. _

_He smiled, leaning down to rest his forehead on mine. I kissed him, our mouths moving slowly and rhythmically together. The few pieces of clothing we still had on were deserted and we laid together for what seemed like hours, kissing and touching. He kissed down my throat and my chest, his thumbs rubbing slow circles on my hips as he grinded against me. _

_At first it was overwhelming, but suddenly it wasn't enough. After almost an hour, I gasped, "Are we going to do this, or what?" _

_I felt Fang's lips turn up against my skin in a smile. "You sure?" _

"_Well, shit," I panted sarcastically. "You're right. I'm not sure. Let's stop." _

_Fang rolled his eyes at me. He wasted no time after that. I whimpered, digging my nails into the base of his wings. He hissed. _

"_What?" _

_My eyes widened. What? Was he _stupid_? _

"_It hurts, you jackass," I grumbled. Fang just lifted my chin and kissed me. _

"_Maximum Ride, admitting to pain?"_

"_Yeah, and it'll never happen again. Remember this moment," I mumbled. _

_Fang brushed a feather-light kiss across my jaw. "Trust me, I'll never forget it." _

_And just like that, words meant _nothing_. Nothing compared to what we were doing. Our playful banter was completely forgotten as our instinct took control, our senses overloaded. Suddenly, every thought in Fang's head was in mine - it was as if our minds merged and became one. We didn't have to speak, didn't have to say a word. _

_It was a feeling I'd never forget. Being completed, being molded together with Fang…our minds and bodies completely given to the other. Nothing was a secret, nothing was uncomfortable or awkward. It was just totally us. And for a second, just the two of us wrapped up in each other, wrapped up in the moment…_

_Everything just made a little bit more sense._

**A/N: Aw. **

**You better review for me because I worked my ass off trying to make this chapter romantic but not TOO mushy. **

**Thanks so much!**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I HAVE 700 REVIEWS!**

**Ugh. Guys. Tonight was **_**so **_**bad.**

**I thought guys were supposed to be the **_**non-**_**dramatic friends. Since when do they cause so much crap? Whatevs. Sisters before misters, am I right? **

**(No offense to any male readers, I'm sure you're all super cool…I'm just in a feminist mood after the night I just had.)**

**Anyways. After that shitty evening, I just have to say: Next time I decide to go hang out with my friends instead of update, slap me a few times. **

**That should get me back to thinking straight. **

'**Kay? 'Kay. **

**Here we go. **

Fang and I hadn't left the bedroom all weekend, so it was quite an adventure when we moved ourselves into the small den Sunday afternoon. There was a fireplace and a TV in front of the couch. I dragged the huge quilt from the bed into the living room and curled up on the couch. Fang started a fire in the fireplace then joined me on the couch.

"Oh, God, Fang," I moaned, closing my eyes. "I think this is the best thing we've done all weekend."

Fang glanced up at me in amusement. "I hope that was a joke."

I shook my head. "You have no idea how incredible that feels…don't stop," I breathed. "I just - right _there_!"

Fang rolled his eyes at me and continued rubbing my foot. It was heaven. My feet had been killing me for days. After a few minutes, Fang quit rubbing my feet and pulled me into his arms, so I was laying on top of him. His fingers drifted over the small of my back.

"I love it here," I mumbled into his neck. "I'm so tired…"

"Hmm…we have to go home soon," Fang murmured in my ear. "It's almost five."

I sat up and kissed his mouth. "Take me to bed, Fang."

"I thought," he whispered between kisses, " you…were tired…"

As he went to pull away again, I held the back of his head, keeping his lips on mine. We shared a tender kiss.

"Not anymore."

• • •

No matter how _not _tired she had been, Max passed out as soon as Fang started driving home. They finally got on the road around six, which meant they'd be getting back at nine. Fang shot her a glance every once in a while, but her position never changed. She had reclined the seat back and curled up on her side, tucking the seat belt strap that was meant to go across her chest underneath her. She had fallen asleep holding his hand, and he hadn't moved it.

For an hour, Fang drove without much excitement. Max was completely unconscious, which made sense, because they hadn't done much sleeping all weekend. The radio was on quietly in the background. Fang hated driving. It was no where near as easy or comfortable as flying. And he still had two hours left to go.

He almost felt like waking Max up for company - she shouldn't have been able to sleep until he got to - but decided to be chivalrous and let her sleep.

All of the sudden, Max's cell phone started to ring; a loud, piercing sound shattering the comfortable silence. He tried to answer it quickly so Max wouldn't wake up. She barely even flinched. Fang grinned at how exhausted his wife was, pushing _Answer_.

"Hey."

"You know what is just _so fucking funny_? Huh? The fact that they put the contraception right next to pregnancy tests in the store. You know? Because when you go and buy some condoms, the tests are always right there, saying 'Hey! Don't want to have to buy _me_, do you? Better be extra careful!' And then when you have to buy a pregnancy test the condoms are just like, 'Look what you forgot, dumbass!' Honestly, it's just bad shelving. As if the poor girl going to buy the test isn't upset and worried enough, the last thing she needs is to be mocked by a freaking box of _unreliable _latex."

Fang decided not to say the first thing the came to his mind, which was, 'If the condoms are talking to you, something is _wrong_.' Instead he said, "Nudge?"

"Oh, hey, Fang," Nudge said, her voice still unusually high and nervous. "Where's Max?"

"Uh, asleep," Fang said. "We're in the car - are you okay?"

She sighed shakily. "No. Since when is a little stick of plastic so scary? Huh? Huh?"

"You need to just breathe," Fang said. "Where's Josh?"

"In Germany for the next three months, until he moves to the base in Arizona. Can you wake Max up, please? Because I really just need to talk to her. I am standing here in my bathroom and I can't remember how long I'm supposed to wait until I can see the results because I threw the box away without reading all the instructions - which, by the way, are kind of unreasonable because who in the _world _can pee for ten to fifteen seconds? I think I barely even got to three, but I wasn't really counting because I am kind of distracted at the moment-"

"Nudge, how long have you been standing there?"

Nudge hummed as she checked the time. "Uh, in a minute, it'll be half an hour."

Fang tried not to laugh, especially since Nudge was so on edge. "I think the results should've appeared by now."

"Oh. Cool."

Fang waited for a second. "Well?"

"I can't look!"

"Why not?"

"Fang…you just don't get it, okay? Do you have any idea how I feel right now?"

"Considering I was a dad at eighteen, yeah. I do."

"Yeah but you and Max found out _together_. Josh doesn't even know that I bought the test. And he's not here - he's all the way across the freakin' ocean!"

Fang didn't say anything. She sounded like she was hyperventilating.

"…We weren't trying."

"You've been engaged for five years, Nudge."

"I know, but…"

"But what?"

"I don't want to find out alone. I want him to be here. I want _someone _to be here! I can't find out alone, Fang, I can't look. I'm just going to throw the test away and forget-"

"Well, that obviously won't solve anything," Fang said seriously. "Just look at the damn stick, Nudge."

She dragged in a deep, struggling breath. "Okay, okay. Fang, you still there?"

Fang rolled his eyes. "I'm here, hanging in suspense."

"How dare you fucking joke at a time like - OH MY GOD."

She started crying hysterically.

"Nudge? Is it positive?" he asked.

She sniffled, crying out distraughtly, "No! No! It's _negative_!"

"I thought that was what you wanted!"

"Me too! But now it's not! I want a baby!"

"I'm not the right person for you to ask," Fang said. "Tell Josh that."

Nudge sniffled. "You're right. Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Fang."

Fang rolled his eyes. Nudge was insane. "Anytime."

"I'll see you later. Love you and Max and the kids."

"You too," he said, and hung up. Then he sighed, glancing at Max again.

Yep.

She'd slept through it all.

• • •

"Okay, babe, I have to go home."

Brittany, who had her head in Tyler's lap, groaned. "No…just transport home later."

"Can't," he said, running his fingers through her smooth brown hair. "I drove my mom's van. And I gotta pick up Quake."

Brittany sat up and faced her boyfriend, her hair falling over her shoulder. "You'd rather hang out with your weird, overactive friend than with your amazing girlfriend?"

They were laying in Brittany's basement, which was her own personal space. She had twin little brothers, age nine, Lucas and Noah. Both of them could be heard making ruckus upstairs. The basement was her sanctuary; she had her own little living room along with her own personal bathroom. Her bedroom was behind the door at the far end of the room. They'd been lying in her living room, watching movies.

"Since when do you not like Quake?"

"_Parker _is fine," Brittany said. She'd never understood Tyler's weird nickname for his best friend. "I just hate that he's making you leave my house so early."

"Come over," Tyler said. "I'll _actually _bring you home this time, promise."

"No," she sighed. "It's guy night. Hang out together, eat a bunch of unhealthy food. Brag about me."

Tyler grinned. "I will do _all _of that."

She leaned forward and kissed him, making sure he hated himself for leaving. It worked. She pulled away and he pulled her back, keeping her lips on his.

"That's all you get," she gasped, falling backwards against the opposite arm of the couch. He watched her with hungry eyes. "Go home and think about the decisions you've made. Then, suffer the consequences."

He frowned. "Fine." Tyler stood up, grabbed his jacket off the purple rug, then pushed his feet into his shoes and grabbed the car keys. "But we're still hanging out tomorrow, right?"

"Duh. Bye."

"Bye," he said, leaning over and stealing another kiss. Then he transported to the kitchen, bid goodbye to her parents, playfully knocked the twins' heads together and ran out to his car. It was already almost nine…he was supposed to pick up Quake at seven.

Quake (Parker Addy) had been Tyler's best friend since fifth grade. They'd played on every sport team together (currently on the varsity baseball team) and hung out during the week or whenever Quake was at his dad's house - his mom, who live about two hours away, got him _most _weekends. This was one of the rare weekends when Quake stayed at his dad's.

He slid into the driver's seat of the van and pulled out of Brittany's driveway. As soon as he turned onto the main road, his phone started buzzing annoyingly. He decided to break his mom's no-phone rule and answer it, since it could be Aria. He was still worried about leaving her with responsibilities like watching their siblings - especially when Iggy and Ella were out for the night and his mom had a creepy stalker hanging around.

"Hello?" Tyler answered.

"So, you suck at being on time," Quake said. "I'm guessing you just left Brittany's - or you are going to leave right now. I'm at your house. I'll just chill here and wait, I guess."

"Yeah, okay. I'm like twenty minutes away."

And, true to his word, about 18 minutes later he pulled into his driveway. Before he could even step onto the porch, though, his dad's black truck pulled up, too.

"Hey," Tyler said, opening the passenger door. His mouth was passed out.

"Yeah, she's tired," Fang muttered. He handed Tyler their bags and decided it would be easiest to just carry Max inside. As soon as he picked her up, though, she started to awake.

"Hmmm…" she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"We're home," Fang said quietly. "You want to walk?"

"No."

"Didn't think so. Tyler, get the door," Fang said, carrying Max towards the house. Tyler kicked the passenger door closed and followed his dad to the front door. Pushing the door open, the three of them saw something unexpected.

Tyler, at least, had definitely not expected it. The last thing he would've thought to find would be his best friend and his sister caught in a torrid embrace on the couch, kissing each other and touching each other like the apocalypse was on their heels.

Tyler dropped the bags. Fang, thankfully, didn't drop Max.

"What the hell, man?" Tyler demanded. He stormed into the house. "My _sister_?"

Aria sat up, straightened herself, and rolled her eyes at her brother. "You're such a drama queen," she muttered.

Tyler gaped from his sister to his best friend to his dad. Aria looked like she regretted nothing, except maybe letting her brother's best friend feel her up in front of her parents. Quake looked a weird combination of confused and comfortable. Fang looked utterly speechless.

"Who the fuck are you?" Fang finally said.

Tyler would've found it odd that his parents didn't know his best friend, except for the fact that for the past year, Quake had only been to their house a few times. Mostly, they hung out at school or at Quake's, since it was easier for Tyler to transport to his house. Plus, whenever Quake was usually around Tyler's parents, he would introduce himself as Parker.

"I'm Quake," he said to Fang, trying to look like he hadn't just been munchin' on Fang's daughter seconds ago.

Fang raised an eyebrow. "That's a weird-ass name."

"Uh, your name's Fang. Maybe we shouldn't judge."

Fang gritted his teeth.

"No, no," Max said, finally standing on her own two feet. "You look familiar."

"Oh, holy hell," Tyler groaned, emotions - not good ones - spiraling in his head. "It's Parker. My best friend. And he was…ew…Aria…what the…"

"Parker had long hair," Fang said.

"Then I discovered scissors - changed my life."

Fang stood still for a second. Then he nodded. "Yeah, it is Parker. He's got the same shitty attitude."

Quake grinned. "Thanks Mr. R, but you really don't need to flatter me."

Fang shrugged, walking into the kitchen. "You guys hungry? We brought home food."

"I'm starving," Max said, following him. "I _am _eating for two people, you know. I wonder if we have any pickles."

Tyler's head was about to explode. "But - Dad! Quake was just…Aria was…they…that is not okay!"

His dad looked at him. "Better than Brian."

Aria smirked at her brother, wandering into the kitchen as well. Quake walked up to Tyler and frowned. "Uh…sorry."

Tyler frowned back. "No you aren't."

Quake grinned sheepishly. "You're dad thinks I'm better than her ex."

Tyler just frowned at him. His best friend…how could he do this to him? This wouldn't turn out well…

"If I fuck up, you can personally dismember me."

"How about if you fuck up, I'll tie you to a tree and my family will take turns beating you with your own baseball bat," Tyler said seriously. "And my mom will go first."

**A/N: Review! I really need to hear from you guys!**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: What the hell is my problem? I don't know. I also don't know why it has been more than a week since I've updated…life's just busy, guys. I'm sure you understand. Trust me, I've been writing like hell, but updating is a totally different story considering the computer I write on isn't the same computer I update on. Unfortunately. Otherwise, you would've gotten this chapter five days ago. **

**THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS BY THE WAY. **

**The One Direction concert was AMAZING. I think a lot of you may see that and be like, One Direction? Really? Well, let's just say those men are gorgeous and if you take a second to not judge them for being a "boy band" you'll realize that their voices are beautiful! **

**I'm not only into boy bands, though…seriously, the type of music on my iPod would shock people.**

**Okay. Remember when I said it would be thirty chapters? It's going to be thirty-one. Because silly me forgot to figure in the epilogue! **

**If the word "epilogue" scares any of you - it scares the crap out of me…this trilogy is OVER? - don't be afraid! At the end of the epilogue I will give a new sneak peek to my story coming in September…**

**Get excited! I am!**

**OMG making Quake's real name Parker Addy was totally coincidental, even though I am obsessed with Bones. Maybe there was a reason my mind offered up that name! That's so weird, but no, any coincidental similarities to other books, movies, shows, etc. are all unintended! **

**Here we go, chapter 28!**

Tuesday morning I was woken up by a warm pair of lips on the back of my neck. I sighed, keeping my eyes shut as I relished the sensation. Fang's fingers slithered over my hip and around my stomach, where he laced our fingers together.

"Tuesdays are the worst," I grumbled, looking warily at the alarm clock that read 5:02. "We have an hour until we have to get up. Let's go back to sleep."

"I have a better idea," Fang murmured, letting his lips move down my neck and spine. I curled into him, sighing in content when one of his wings wrapped around us securely. His lips spent a few moments on my tattoo, kissing and nipping at my skin.

"Tempting," I whispered.

"_How _tempting?" Fang pleaded, wondering openly if I would give in to him.

"Not enough. We have to get up in an hour," I repeated meaningfully, but my voice sounded breathy.

Fang planted quick, soft kisses on my right shoulder blade. "That's barely an excuse, Mrs. Ride."

He gently nudged me onto my back and kissed me for real this time, molding his lips to mine and using his tongue to deepen the kiss. I struggled to pull myself away that time.

"No?" I let my eyes examine him. My fingers moved to his chest where I could feel his abnormally quick heartbeat. Well, abnormal for normal people. But for us, it was…normal.

"You're gonna have to do so much better than that," Fang breathed.

"Okay," I said, stopping his impending kiss by grabbing his chin. "How about the fact that our kids are right down the hall?"

Fang groaned, resting his head on the pillow next to me. He mumbled in my ear, "Mood killer." I smirked. He rolled to my side and resumed our earlier position of him holding me, wrapping his arm and wing around me once more. I grabbed his hands that were holding my abdomen and twisted our fingers together once more.

"I think we shouldn't let the kids out of our sight this week." I said softly. "Dylan hasn't shown up since I saw him at the grocery store, and I'm worried he's going to try to use the kids to get to us."

"I know. I guess we'll just put them on house arrest. No one goes anywhere alone."

I nodded. "The kids are not going to like that."

Fang shrugged behind me. "It'll be okay."

I let those words sink into my brain and closed my eyes, willing Fang to be right. The next time I opened my eyes, the clock read 5:47. I sighed.

"I should take a shower," I mumbled, pushing back the covers and standing up. I made my way into the bathroom. I turned the light on and squinted as my eyes adjusted. I closed the bathroom door and lifted my shirt over my head, throwing it to the ground. Just then, I felt arms wrap around me from behind. I gasped in surprise, moving to elbow whoever was behind me.

"Calm down," Fang muttered, grabbing my extended elbow and running his hand down my arm.

"Don't sneak up on me," I chastised.

"You're paranoid as ever these days."

I rolled my eyes. "I have to take a shower, Fang."

"I know," he breathed against my neck, his hands on my belly moving to tug at the waistband of my shorts. I let him undress us both. "No one goes anywhere alone, remember?"

I spun around and grabbed his face with both hands, forcing him to look at me. "We are _just _going to shower. That's it."

"Of course," Fang grinned.

"Promise?"

Fang pulled me into the shower with him. He closed the glass door to the shower stall and turned on the water. Then he pulled me close, letting the hot water douse us both. He pushed back my hair, smirking. "Someone once told me not to make promises I can't keep."

• • •

When Aria sat down in her first period class - Mr. Waldorf's AP Chemistry; who wants _Chemistry _at seven am? - she groaned and let her head fall to the cold top of her lab table. The stools they had in Mr. Waldorf's room were ridiculous. She shifted on her seat, trying to get at least halfway comfortable. She closed her eyes, imagining she was anywhere else but at school. Which, she'd learned that morning at breakfast, was the only place she'd be able to go all week. Because her parents were freaking schizoids.

"_Oh, my God_." Two hands slammed down on either side of Aria's head. She opened one eye. The hand to her right was perfectly manicure, the bright red nails tapping the black table top excitedly. Aria groaned.

"It's too early for gossip, Kristen. Talk to me at lunch."

Kristen made an almost disgusted sound. "Too early? For gossip? No such thing."

"Last time I checked, it was almost seven in the morning. So, yeah. Too fucking early."

"Oh, Aria. Honey. It's never too early to talk about your scandalous love life," Kristen mused, sitting in the lab seat next to her. There were five minutes before the tardy bell. Kristen wasn't even in Aria's first period. Aria's real lab partner hadn't arrived yet, though, so Aria saw no gain in making Kristen leave.

"What do I have to say to satisfy you until this afternoon?" Aria mumbled.

Her best friend frowned. "Maybe you should tell me about your little rendezvous with your brother's best friend this weekend!"

"What? Kristen, how did you even hear-"

"Are you kidding? I can't believe it took me this long to catch wind of it! And how dare you not tell me. I'm almost ashamed to call you my best friend. Seriously, Aria."

Aria mentally kicked herself and the rest of the student body. It was Tuesday. She had been with Parker on Sunday. How were they already big news?

"You didn't tell me what happened with Brian, you didn't tell me you got a rebound beau, _and _you didn't tell me that new beau was Parker Addy, your brother's partner in crime since…before time!"

Aria wouldn't exactly call them partners in crime because her brother had never broken a rule in his life. And fifth grade was not _before time_. Aria rolled her eyes. "I told you Brian and I broke up."

"Well, you didn't tell me why!" Kristen said in defense. "But you don't need to tell me _now _because _everyone else in school _has already told me. God, I really hope those rumors didn't follow you home. Your dad would flip."

Aria sighed. "You don't know the half of it."

"Well," Kristen said. "One of these days we're going to sit down and you are going to tell me what of those rumors is true and what isn't." She quirked an eyebrow. Aria's lab partner walked up and tried to Kristen out of her seat, but no dice. Aria sighed. Kristen glared at the other girl who wanted her seat then looked at Aria seriously. "But for now you can make it up to me for being such a horrible best friend by giving me all the details of your night with Parker."

Aria sighed. She glanced at the clock and saw that Krtisten now had two minutes to get to class.

"I'll text you," she said. She didn't want Kristen to be late to class.

"Bullshit," Kristen grumbled. "You better sit down with me at lunch and tell me everything. God. What's the point of being best friends with a near celebrity when I don't even get the juicy details before everyone else?"

"I don't know, Kris," Aria said. "I do know that you have, like, thirty seconds to get to first period, though."

She sighed and hopped of the stool. "You know I hate being called Kris."

Aria rolled her eyes. "I know."

Kristen left the room, not in a hurry. The bell rang before she was even out in the hall. Aria snorted. Her lab partner sat down and looked at her, almost curiously.

"Don't ask."

After Chemistry, Aria saw Parker in the hallway. Actually, Parker caught Aria's arm as she walked by him. She smiled at him.

"Hey," he said.

"Wow, you're talking to me," Aria said in fake surprise. "I thought Tyler would've talked you out of it by now."

Parker rolled his shoulders. "Well, he did threaten my life, but don't worry. It's an 'if, then' situation."

"If you break his little sister's heart…" Aria began, looking at him expectantly.

"Then your family will beat me with my bat." He glanced at her, his eyes showing a bit of nervousness.

She grabbed his hand. "Ty's all talk."

"Your mom's not," he mumbled.

"What?"

He lifted his head, grinning at her. "Hey. My dad's throwing a barbeque this Friday. You guys should come."

Aria stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Guys? Plural?"

"Your family," he clarified.

"You want us all at your house?" Aria asked. Now she was the nervous one.

"Yeah, why not?"

Poor thing. He actually looked like he didn't know. Aria sighed.

"I guess you'll find out."

• • •

"Would you mind taking your little party-for-two elsewhere?" Aria asked, pulled her new boyfriend into the living room. Aria would call him Parker, then Tyler would call him Quake…I'd just call him trouble, if you ask me. The two siblings were in a fit over the whole situation, and Tyler was always sending Quake/Parker mean looks.

I had a feeling Aria was only playing it up so much because she loved making her brother's head ache.

"Um, no," Tyler said from the couch. He and Brittany were watching something on the TV.

"Fine," Aria said, smirking. "We'll go to my room."

"No!" Tyler said. He sat up. "Come on, Britt."

Aria snickered, flopping down on the couch and grabbing the remote from the coffee table. Parker stood in the middle of the room, glancing uncertainly between Tyler and Aria.

"Come on, Parker. Sit down. Tyler will get over it."

I glanced at Fang. He and I were in the kitchen with Iggy, Ella, Gazzy and Emma. It was Tuesday night, and they were over for dinner. Cassidy and Olivia were in Cassidy's bedroom since we weren't allowing anyone to leave the house alone. That's why Tyler and Aria both had their dates at the house. We hadn't seen Dylan yet, but we weren't taking any chances. The Ride house was officially on house arrest. Except when they had to go to school, of course.

"So, let me get this straight," Ella said, handing Iggy ingredients. He was making some yummy-smelling stew. "Aria broke up with Brian and now she's dating Tyler's best friend?"

"Parker's the kid that used to be over here, 24/7," Fang said. "The one with the hair."

"Oh, wow," Ella said, sneaking a peek into the living room. "He cut it off?"

Fang nodded. I looked into the other room to see Aria leaning against Parker. Nothing bad was going on or anything, but it gave me a weird feeling. Every time I looked at the kid, he was just oddly familiar to me. Fang said I probably just recognized him because he used to spend all his time at our house. But something felt off.

"He hasn't been coming around as much since his parents just got divorced," Fang continued.

"Well, I guess it's good for Aria," Iggy said. "We know the kid is a good one, at least."

Fang shrugged. "Tyler's pissed. But that's what happens when your best friend goes for your little sister."

"Whatever, Fang. Let it go," Gazzy said with a sour look on his face. "She kissed me first, okay?"

Fang rolled his eyes. "I wasn't talking about you," Fang said.

I heard the front door open and turned to see Nudge pushing off her coat.

"Hey, Max!" She walked into the kitchen and hugged me tight. "How was the honeymoon? There were a lot of great places around the cabin. I did some research and there is this restaurant called -"

"We didn't go to any restaurants," I said. "Iggy stocked the fridge for us."

Nudge groaned. "Lucky. I need to get him over to my house soon so he can stock _my _fridge. Well, did you go anywhere else?"

I bit the inside of my cheek. "Not really."

"Oh, okay. I gotcha. Toured the bedroom, right. I'm sure there was a lot to see _in _the cabin," she said, pulling Ella into a hug and winking at me over her shoulder. "Well, glad you two had fun. Anyways, Aaron texted me and said he can't make it. Surprise visit from Soph's parents and they're stuck entertaining."

I reached over Iggy's shoulder, attempting to steal a spoonful of stew. He grabbed my wrist and twisted it, hard. I yelped and smacked the back of his head.

"Where's Angel?" Nudge asked.

"She's coming later," Gazzy said, opening a beer. "Is that food done yet, man?"

"Soon," Iggy said, testing it.

I harrumph. "You get to try it but I can't?" I asked testily.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "Back off."

"You guys seen Dylan?"

I shook my head. Fang frowned. "No, but we're not taking any chances."

"Dad!" Olivia and Cassidy ran into the kitchen, both yelling for two different people. Cassidy ran up to Fang and Olivia approached her dad with the exact same excitement.

"Can we go flying?"

"No," Fang and Iggy said at the same time.

"Mom!" Cassidy cried, turning to look at me.

"It isn't safe," I said.

"Besides," Ella said, trying to brush through Olivia's hair with her fingers. Olivia snarled and pushed away, pulling her tangled locks over her shoulder. "Dinner almost ready."

"Really?" Cassidy said, completely distracted. "I'm starving!"

"You don't know the definition of starving!" Gazzy laughed.

"Yes I do," Cassidy said, making a face at him. "_I am _the definition of starving."

Gazzy rolled his eyes.

"Aunt Ella, Aiden's crying," Aria called from the living room.

"See what he wants!" Ella called.

"Busy," Aria said from the other room, followed by muffled laughter.

Fang lifted the pot of stew off the stove. "Make yourself _not _busy, Aria," he called seriously. She groaned from the living room. I peeked into the room and saw her get up off the couch and her boyfriend to tend to the whining baby in the armchair.

"Dinner!"

**A/N: Not a very good chapter. Whatever. Three more after this. Would've updated sooner but my mom stupidly went outside and got herself stung 10+ times by bees. Like, a whole freaking swarm attacked her. She's allergic. Yeah, that was fun. **

**Review, please! I'll try to have the next chapter up ASAP, but I'm going out of town tomorrow…I know I suck don't hate me. **

**IF I CAN GET 790 REVIEWS BEFORE TOMORROW MORNING I'LL UPDATE BEFORE I LEAVE. **

**And trust me…you want the next chapter. **


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: So there weren't 790 reviews but I don't know why I expected so many reviews for such a shitty chapter anyways. Plus I'm going out of town so I'll just update now. Hope this one is better! **

**Well…third to last chapter. No pressure or anything. I hope no one gets too confused here…**

"_Please_?"

Fang and I glanced at each other across the kitchen. I was sitting on the island. He was standing across the room, at the fridge, getting himself a drink. Aria and Tyler were standing between the two of us, pleading looks on their faces.

"No," Fang said finally. "Not safe."

"Oh, my _God_," Aria groaned. "This again."

Tyler spun away to look at his dad. "It's not _safe_? We've been safe all week! No one's seen mom's creepy stalker since last Wednesday!"

I looked at Fang.

_They're right, _I thought.

_He's drawing us out, _Fang thought back. _He's probably lurking in the woods somewhere, eavesdropping on everything we do or say. _

_Then I really hope he saw us in bed this morning, _I thought.

Fang rolled his eyes, opening a soda and taking a long drink.

"Dad, Parker's having a barbeque and he really wanted us to go!"

Tyler shot his sister a withering look. "Yeah. _Quake _told me about it yesterday."

"Hm. _Parker _told me Tuesday."

"Well, I'm surprised you two had time to do anything but suck each others' faces," Tyler snarled.

Aria crossed her arms over her chest. "Trust me, brother, we had time to do _a lot more_."

"Okay, that's enough," I said, sliding down off the counter. "It's a bad idea. No means no."

Aria made an impatient sound. "Mom! Locking us all up in the house won't stop some psycho with the hots for you! If he wanted to get to you already, he would have! The house isn't freaking indestructible."

"What about Parker's barbeque is going to be safer than staying home?" Fang challenged.

"Um, the fact that we won't bite each others' heads off from the mere anger of being stuck in the house together all weekend?" Aria offered.

Fang nodded, considering this. He shot Tyler a look. "And you want to go? Even with all this drama going on between you and Quake now that he's dating Aria?"

"I'd hardly call it dating," Tyler said. "Have you even seen them leave the house since they started hanging out? Really?"

"Just because you and Brittany leave the house to screw around doesn't mean you go on actual dates, either."

"Thank you!" Brittany exclaimed from the living room. "That's what I tell him!"

I'd forgotten she was over. I glanced into the living room to see her sitting on the couch. Cassidy was on the floor in front of her. Brittany was French braiding Cass's hair.

"So, you two would rather go and risk the family's safety than stay holed up in the house for a few more days?"

"Yes," Aria said.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Fang looked at me, because ultimately, though they were pleading their case to him, it was my decision.

I shrugged. "They're thrill seekers," I said. _I think we'll be okay. _

_I think so, too, but Dylan has a way of ruining things. _

I sighed. "You're telling me," I mumbled out loud. Dylan had taken my memories from me - my entire life, frankly. I was almost hoping he would come out of hiding today just so I could force him to give my memories back. Whatever he did to me, there had to be a way to reverse it, right?

The kids were staring at me, waiting for a verdict. I nodded reluctantly. "Fine. We'll leave in an hour."

So, as Aria and Tyler celebrated their victory and got ready, Fang walked across the kitchen to me and pulled me close. He kissed me. I closed my eyes and leaned into him, letting our lips mingle. He had been so good to me, so perfect, and everyday I felt a little more like myself, but…I still wanted my memories back. I still wanted revenge against Dylan. I still wanted to be the one to get rid of him.

Fang pushed my hair back. "Stop having all these extreme thoughts," he murmured. "You aren't fifteen anymore, and it isn't your job to dish out justice. Relax."

"Excuse me, Mr. I-will-take-care-of-it. You can threaten to kill him on sight and I can't want my memories back?"

"Listen to me. If anything happens tonight, don't forget who you are. You aren't just Maximum Ride, a teenage superhero anymore. You're Maximum Ride, and you have five kids and a husband to stick around for. So just lay off the crazy talk."

I pulled away. "It isn't crazy talk. I'm tired of not remembering my life. He had no right to take it from me, Fang. Now, I have the chance to get my memories back. You expect me to not look forward to it? If he did this to me, he can certainly undo it."

Fang looked deep into my eyes, his face serious. "Max, Dylan's fucked up. You can't expect him to help us. All he wants is to steal you away."

"Well, that obviously isn't working," I mumbled, pushing my arms around his neck.

"Hm…" he kissed me gently, his fingers stroking my lower back. "Obviously."

• • •

Parker's dad's home was the epitome of _farm house_. It was a big, two story white house with a huge stone chimney sticking out the top. It had a wrap around porch and was nestled in the middle of a huge field. In the distance there was a big red barn. There were people everywhere - I figured most of them were either family or close friends with Parker's dad.

Tyler had dragged Brittany along, once again. Aria was grabbed by Parker as soon as we got to his house and was meeting his dad and brothers. One of them was older; he looked at least twenty. The other was a few years younger than Parker was, around Cassidy's age. I saw Cass and Parker's younger brother run out into the field and smiled.

"That Parker's dad, Neil," Fang said, pointing across the front yard to a man who was sitting at a picnic table with Parker, Aria, and Parker's older brother. "We were good friends with Neil and Alyssa. They used to be a really happy couple, but they started having problems a few years ago. Surprised it took them this long to end it. Alyssa already has a new boyfriend."

I looked at him. "Fang, look at us."

"What?"

I motioned between us, my eyes wide. "We're gossiping."

He rolled his eyes. "Parker's older brother's name is Sean. His younger brother, who went somewhere with Cassidy, is Joey."

I was still watching Parker's dad. "Neil looks old."

"He's a bit older than us. Guess that's what happens when you don't have kids in high school."

"Hmm, touché," I said.

Fang, who was holding Alex, grabbed my hand. "Want to get some food?"

"Yeah, I'm going to get Cassidy. I think she and Joey went to the barn. She should eat, too," I said, pointing across the field. Fang nodded, then turned his attention to Alex. "Burger or hot dog?"

"Hot dog!" Alex exclaimed.

I started my journey across the field. The barn door was wide open, so I figured Cassidy and Joey had gone in to explore. I got to the barn and stepped into the wide door. It was mostly empty except for a few hay stacks. There was a hay loft above my head. It smelled…well, as you can imagine a barn would smell.

"Cass-"

Suddenly, someone grabbed my waist from behind. I almost screamed. Instead, I held back the urge to kick some major ass and said, "Fang, would you quit-"

"Max, I'm so glad you're here."

My heart dropped to my knees. Immediately, I threw back my elbow. It connected with his chest. He barely flinched, his grip not letting up. I reached my foot up and kicked his knee, hard, and he grunted in pain but tightened his arms around me.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "Just let me talk to you."

"Get away from me," I said. I gauged his strength against mine. If I had been ready, maybe I would've had the upper hand. But I'd been totally unprepared for this. I almost called for Fang in my mind, but…

If I wanted to get anything done, it had to be without Fang around. Dylan wasn't interested in having an audience. Especially not Fang. He'd run if Fang came in there.

"I miss you," Dylan breathed. "It's been so long."

In the next second he had me pinned against the wall, hard. One of his arms went across my shoulders, his other arm held my wrists behind my back. His body backed mine against the wall, crushing my arms, and he held me in place. I stared up at him, trying to plan a way to get the upper hand. Dylan smiled at me.

"It's such a cruel world," Dylan said softly. "Nothing's ever gone my way, you know. It's always been failure after failure…I just want to make it up to you. I just want to show you how I feel for you."

Dylan leaned down and smashed his mouth to mine with a rough kiss. I wrenched my mouth away, jerking my hands out of his grip and shoving him, hard. He stumbled back and I wiped my mouth.

Then my mind was attacked with memories.

…_Dylan twisted his fingers with mine, pulling me close as he put his arm around my shoulders. I didn't look over for a long time. When I finally did, Fang was gone. A sick feeling settled permanently in my stomach as Dylan held my hand long after we left the parking lot…_

…_I reached for the knob to open Dylan's door but he beat me to it, smiling brightly down at me. He was wearing a dark green t-shirt and jeans that were hanging on his thin body, but he still managed to look like a Calvin Klein model…_

…"_Fine," he said finally, his voice tight. "But just because you don't love me doesn't mean you have to love him." _

"_I don't _have _to love anyone, Dylan! He's my best friend! He makes me happy! Do you hate the idea of me being happy with someone else that much?" I cried._

_I hate the idea of _you and Fang _that much!" Dylan shouted. "It tears me apart!"_

I stared at Dylan, standing in the Addy's barn. I didn't know how he'd known we would be there - maybe he'd followed us. I couldn't even think, the memories were like a kick to the gut. One memory, though, stood out among all the rest.

_I stumbled back as Dylan shoved me away from Fang, and in seconds I was on my butt, sitting next to Evelyn's gun. I didn't even think about grabbing it - it was suddenly gripped tightly in both of my hands, pointed at Dylan. Like a instinct - one that scared the living hell out of me. _

"_Dylan, drop the gun," I said slowly. "You don't want to hurt Fang."_

_Dylan shook his head, almost violently, his eyes darting around the room but never once landing on me. "Yes - yes, I really do want to. I've wanted to kill him for a long time. He's the problem. He's the only thing standing in the way of us, Max. Just him. Fang. He needs to go."_

"_Put the gun down, Dylan."_

"_Evelyn knew what she was doing. Evelyn had a plan. A good plan. Get rid of the others. Get rid of the ones standing between us. All of them, gone. And we could be together. Safe and together. That was Evelyn's plan. For us, Max."_

"_No," I said, trying to sound calm. "No, Dylan. She was using you. Controlling you."_

"_I came to her," he said frantically, still avoiding eye contact. "I wanted to help her. I could've left whenever I wanted. But I didn't. Because I'd do anything for you, Max. Anything." _

"_Then don't do this," I said softly. _

"_I _have _to do this!" he shouted. "I'm sorry, Max, that this has to happen."_

"_It doesn't!" I cried. I gripped the gun tightly between my two hands, hesitating for a moment before resting my finger delicately on the trigger. And even when Dlyan pressed the gun to the skin of Fang's temple…I couldn't. _

_I couldn't kill him. _

It was all starting to make some kind of horrible sense. Dylan had been Evelyn's assistant. He had helped her torture Fang, keep him away from me for two years. And then when we'd went to rescue Fang, Dylan had almost killed him.

And all of this…all of this stalking and hunting Dylan was doing, his death wish for Fang, his need for me…it was my consequence. It was the consequence of my choice to not kill Dylan when I had the chance. Dylan had been trying to get Fang away from me ever since we were kids. Dylan had always wanted Fang dead. He'd always wanted me to himself, that's why he helped Evelyn in the first place. What had Dylan said? _He's the problem. He's the only thing standing in the way of us, Max._

"Dylan, I will never be with you," I said lowly, cautiously sliding myself along the wall toward the door. It used to only be Fang who threatened Dylan. Only Fang who stood between us. The realization that my _entire family _now stood between Dylan and I made me sick. He was obviously twisted enough to do whatever it took to get me to himself. That meant my family was in serious danger. I needed to get them out of there. "I don't love you. Killing my family, taking my memories - none of that will ever make me love you. I will never want to be with you."

I spotted a shovel leaning against the wall of the barn by the door. I slowly shuffled my feet towards the doorway, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Max, you belong with me. I know you might not think so now, but once we escape this all and we can be together-"

I lunged for the shovel and swung it, hard, hitting him. I barely even paused to see him stumble and fall backwards. I was out of there, throwing the shovel to the ground. I took off running across the field, towards the large white house. More people had arrived and now the front yard and porch were both swarming with people. Fang saw me running and immediately came toward me.

_Max? What happened?_

I stopped in front of him, trying to catch my breath. "He's here. In the barn. We need to go, now."

Fang glanced behind me toward the barn. "He's back there?"

I nodded. "I knocked him out with a shovel."

Fang wasted a second to grin down at me before his face became completely serious. "Stay here." He took off towards the barn.

Um, no. I don't think so. I took off, running after him. When we reached the barn at the edge of the property, it was empty.

"Max-"

"He was _here_," I said, almost angrily. "It's not like I imagined it. He was here, Fang."

"Well, he isn't anymore. Which means-"

Fang's theory was interrupted by the unforgettable sound of a gunshot in the distance.

We stared at each other in horror.

The gunshot was followed by immediate silence. Then, the most horrifying sound I've ever heard made my stomach jump and my heart stop.

Aria's blood-curling scream.

I don't even remember running out of the barn and to the house. I don't really remember anything except the unbelievable amount of fear eating at me as I wondered what happened. What Dylan had done. What I had caused.

My choices in the past had finally caught up to me. Those seconds of hesitation years ago, when I'd had the chance to end all of this madness once and for all, were the reason my family was in danger. The reason my daughter was screaming bloody murder. The reason my husband had a look of fear on his face that I'd never seen before.

We reached the house in mere seconds. The sight before us made both Fang and I skid to a stop. Alex ran to me, crying, and I scooped him up. People were in a frenzy, trying to take cover or get out of range. Tyler was holding Brittany behind him, looking in alarm at Parker. Parker, who was laying on the ground, a bullet wound in his stomach. His light blue shirt was quickly becoming covered in dark red blood.

"Aria, get away from him!" I screeched. Aria ignored me as she bent over him, lifting his head into her lap. He was gasping in pain and shock, his eyes locked on his assailant.

Dylan.

I turned my eyes to Dylan and stared at him in horror. Why would he shoot _Parker_, of all people?

"I didn't kill you, Addy."

"What the fuck is your problem?" Parker choked, touching his stomach shakily. His hand came away covered in blood.

"I shot you, but I didn't kill you."

Oh, my God.

There it was. That was the reason Quake had been so familiar to me. Oh, God, it all made sense. Sick, horrible sense.

Dylan's eyes landed on me. I shove Alex behind me, into Fang. I had no idea where Cassidy was. Neil and Sean were kneeling by Aria next to Parker, examining him.

"Someone call an ambulance!" he shouted.

"No one touch a phone!" Dylan said, sending off a warning shot into the air. I saw Tyler push Brittany behind a lawn chair, and squat next to her, his eyes watching Dylan, is body alert and ready. All of the other guests seemed to be in shock and were frozen in their places.

Dylan was suddenly at my side, jerking my arm and pulling me away from Fang and Alex.

"Mom!"

Tyler jumped up and grabbed Cassidy, dragging her out of view, also. Aria watched in horror as the man who'd just shot her boyfriend pulled me into his arms.

"It was _his _fault," Dylan said with a shaky voice and an unstable disposition. "Evelyn was right. She told me not to trust someone on the inside - they always had their loyalties mixed up." Dylan frowned. "Something she said she learned from hiring me."

I knew Dylan would explain the whole thing to me to get me to understand it wasn't his fault, but I didn't need Dylan's explanation. I _remembered _waking up in a room, Dylan arguing with his assistant.

"_You shot her?" _

"_I didn't kill her-"_

"_So, I can shoot you, and it's okay? As long as you don't die?" _

I stared at Parker, lying on the ground. He looked unconscious. Aria was in tears, watching me and holding Parker in her lap.

Parker had been Dylan's assistant. He'd been helping Dylan get to me. At least, until he found something he wanted more - Aria. Evelyn's words to me made sense then, too. _You see, Dylan had an assistant. A young guy he found to help him with his plan. This man's job was just to get you to Dylan. Easy. Simple. Dylan's only problem was that he'd chosen an assistant with no intelligence. I guess that is something he and I share. When I chose Dylan to become apart of The Cleanse, I didn't realize that his love for you would end up ruining everything._

She had hired Dylan, but Dylan had been more focused on me than her plan. He'd ruined her plan all because of his love for me. And Parker…he'd ruined Dylan's plan. First by shooting me, then betraying Dylan by dating Aria.

Dylan looked at Parker with a disgusted look. "The kid had specific orders," he said to me. "He was only supposed to bring you back to me so we could talk. Instead, he shot you out of the sky one night and you fell. Your memory was gone when you woke up."

I glanced at Fang. Dylan _hadn't _taken my memory on purpose. I'd really just gotten amnesia. Which meant…

It was possible I would _never _remember all of my memories ever again. Amnesia had the possibility to last from hours to days to years to forever. It was incurable. That was why I'd been wanting Dylan to tell me he'd done it on purpose - then, maybe I'd have some hope. Now I had nothing.

"Max, you still have a choice. If you decide to come with me tonight, then no one else has to get hurt. No one has to die. But if you decide to fight me…"

I pushed my memory problems aside. Unbeknownst to the crowd of people, Dylan's gun was pressing into my lower back. Even if the shot didn't kill me, it would kill my baby. My protective instincts kicked in and I shot Fang a warning glance. _Get all these people out of here, now. _

Fang sent me a quick, imperceptible nod. I could almost feel the wheels turning in Dylan's head. He'd seen. Quickly, Dylan pulled his hand that was holding the gun out from behind my back and pointed it at Fang. As soon as his finger pulled the trigger, I twisted his hand and the shot fired into the air, inches above Fang's head. The guests screamed and started running, the entire party in chaos. I kicked Dylan hard in the stomach, enough to make him bend and catch his breath. Then I jerked the gun out of his hand.

A gun.

In my hand.

Could I really kill someone? Could I really kill Dylan? I didn't think so.

Until he lunged for Fang and grabbed Alex's ankle. My son screamed in fear.

I didn't even think about shooting him. I didn't think about putting my finger on the trigger and putting that minuscule amount of pressure on it. Suddenly, without a thought or an idea in my mind, the gun was fired and a bullet was suddenly ripped from the gun in my hand and lodged itself in Dylan's back, right in his heart.

**A/N: You know what to do.**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: I got a combination of three responses to chapter 29. **

**1. "Holy shit….hoooooooly shit….holy shiiiiiiiiiiiit…omg wow"**

**2. "Yes! Yes! Yessss! Thank God! Finally! All is right with the world and I am so happy! Tears, tears of happiness! THANK YOUUUUU"**

**3. "Why the hell would you do that, you SADIST?! You can't leave a cliffy like that, you can't kill the villain and just leave it at that, you horrible, horrible, horrible human being! Anyways, great job, update soon"**

**Well, all I can say is…**

**I'm totally flattered. **

**THANK **_**YOU**_**. **

_Five Months Later_

"_What did I tell you_? We weren't printing anything about it five months ago and we aren't printing any of it now," Fang said into the phone as he sat, slouched at the desk in our home office. I leaned in the doorway and watched him. The flock plus kids were all gathered in the living room and kitchen. Iggy was cooking something delicious. It was about five pm. Fang glanced up at me as the man on the other end tried to plead his case. Fang rolled his eyes. "Anthony, stick to sports, okay? Trust me, there are enough magazines printing crap stories about my family to last us a lifetime. The day I die, you can write an article about _that_. Pictures and all, slap it on the front page. Deal?"

Fang hung up and sighed, swiveling his chair around to face me. I slowly walked over to him and sat on his lap. His arms wrapped around my ever-growing swollen belly and he kissed my cheek.

"They still want to print the story?" I asked softly.

"It's been five months and my staff still doesn't get it," Fang mumbled. "We've never printed a story about our family in the paper before and we never will. It's the newspaper, not _People _magazine."

"As if there needs to be another article about Dylan's death anyways," I whispered.

"I know…talk about being infamous," Fang said. He rested his forehead against mine. _Are you feeling okay? _

_Fine_, I thought. "Just like I've felt every other day."

Guilty, for ending someone else's life. Everyone told me it was the right thing to do. But what really makes _murder _the right thing to do? Fang said I was protecting and defending my family - the jury apparently agreed with Fang. No charges, no jail. As far as the world was concerned, I was protecting a party full of 50+ guests.

As far as I was concerned, there would never be a good enough reason to kill someone.

Parker survived, against all odds. He'd just gotten out of the hospital a month ago due to complications with surgery and such. His dad shipped him off to his mom's house in an attempt to get us all past this. Tyler and Aria had been having a rough time believing Parker/Quake had played a part in Dylan's plan to dismember our family.

And lastly, my memory. For the past five months, I'd lived as I'd been living since my memory loss. Slowly regaining small memories here and there. I still didn't remember a lot from my past. In fact, I was starting to wonder if I ever would remember certain things. The thought of never fully recovering from the amnesia scared the hell out of me. Fang promised me that it didn't matter either way, and that we were still a family no matter what, but I felt like a part of me would always be missing if I couldn't remember my childhood. Like, how did Fang and I meet? How did we get our names? What was our relationship like as kids? Our battles? Our fights? Our make-ups?

So much I still didn't know.

Fang tugged on my chin, pulling me out of my depressing thoughts. "Hey, don't."

"I can't help it," I said. "It's hard."

"I know," Fang whispered. "But we're okay. We always are."

I nodded. Fang kissed my forehead, sliding his hands to rest on my belly.

"Only three more months," Fang whispered. "Are you excited?"

I smiled, trying not to let my nerves show through my enthusiasm. "He's going to be perfect," I breathed. "I love him already."

"It'll be okay, Max," Fang said, reading my nervousness anyways. "You're mom said he's perfectly healthy. You are, too. Both of you."

Fang brought both of his hands up and cupped my face, leaning forward to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around him neck, pulling him closer. Our mouths moved together slowly; it was all lips and tongue and teeth and passion and need and love. There was something about it that made my stomach flutter and my heart beat a little faster; something about it that made me want to shut out the rest of the world and drown in him.

_I love you, _Fang thought.

_I love you, too,_ I thought, deepening the kiss.

"Dinner!" Iggy called.

Fang began pulling away but I grabbed his hair and kept him there for a moment, his lips dancing against mine. _Stay,_ I thought. _Just a second. _

I willed myself to memorize how it felt to kiss him, how it felt to hold him. I willed out kiss to heal me and bring back all of my forgotten memories. I willed myself-

The door burst open and Tyler yelled, "Will you just _cut it out _already so we can eat? We're all waiting on _you_!"

I pulled back in surprise. Unfortunately, in my momentary state of shock, I forgot that I was sitting on Fang's lap and that I only had so much space to pull back. I fell backwards off Fang's lap and before he could catch me, I hit my head on the side of Fang's desk and crashed to the ground.

"Ow…" I moaned, levering myself up on my elbows. I closed my eyes as quick visions and pictures flashed inside my head. After a minute or two, Tyler asked, "Mom, you okay?"

Fang helped me up. I opened my eyes and stared at him in awe.

"Are you okay? Max?"

Too consumed by emotion, I just nodded. I couldn't speak.

"Okay, let's go eat," Fang said. He and Tyler went out to the kitchen room. I glanced at Fang's office desk, at a picture of us that had been taken when we were teenagers. It was supposed to be just me and Fang, but the flock had decided to ambush the picture at the last second. Iggy had dove in front of me and so I was shoving him, his face twisted with amusement and surprise as he fell backwards. Angel was on Fang's shoulders, giving him bunny ears. How she'd managed to jump up there…don't ask me. Nudge had slipped between Fang and I and was making a ridiculous face. Aaron had just flung his arm around my shoulders. The Gasman…well he made his mark as only he could - all of us wore looks of complete disgust.

I remembered taking that photo.

_Oh, my God. _

As I recovered from shock, I slowly walked into the living room. The kids were all sitting around in the living room, already eating. I passed them all and saw the adults in the kitchen. Emma was handing out drinks and Ella was distributing plates.

"Fang, want a beer?"

"Soda's fine," Fang said. Gazzy handed Fang a Pepsi.

"I'll have a beer," Iggy said, carrying a plate into the dining room and sitting down at the table. Ella handed me a plate and I slowly put food on it, my head spinning. I followed the others into the dining room and sat down next to Fang.

"You know," Iggy said, holding up his bottle of beer, "it isn't as easy as it used to be to get me wasted. Unfortunately for Ella." He elbowed me. "She used to take advantage of me when I was intoxicated."

I smiled, still distracted. I had something very, very, very important to say now, but no way to say it.

Ella shook her head while laughing. Aaron chuckled, sitting down next to Sophie. "Do you remember that party where Iggy got totally wasted in high school and took off his pants and threw them at Melissa Ramiro?"

I did. I remembered it. "Actually, I'm surprised _you _remember it. You all got wasted and I got stuck driving. You had to crash at our house because your parents couldn't see you like that and Fang tried to rape me on the way home."

Fang laughed. "I didn't try to rape you. I just came onto you a bit more forcefully than usual."

"I remember that!" Emma said. "Aaron threw up in the potted plant on the porch when you got home." More laughter.

"You know, the best part about being blind," Iggy said, "is never having to be the designated driver."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, most of the parties you all got drunk at were at Aaron's house, anyways. No one drove home we all just spent the night."

"_You'd _even drink at those!" Iggy said. "One time you were worse than all of us combined!"

"Yeah," I said, rolling my eyes. "_One _time."

Iggy frowned in my direction. Because he knew it was totally true.

"It's kind of funny that Aaron used to throw parties and provide alcohol to minors and such, and now he's a cop," Angel said.

"Yeah, don't you think they'd have figured some of that out with a background check?" Gazzy asked with an amused expression.

"No, because my parents never came home early and caught me and the police never found out. No record, no evidence. I'm a good example," Aaron said, smirking.

We all laughed at that, and Aaron seemed a bit put out by the fact that none of us found him role-model worthy. Emma started gabbing about wedding plans with Sophie, Ella and the Gasman, Nudge was telling me about how she and Josh had decided to wait to try for a baby until after their wedding. Aaron was telling Josh and Iggy about mouthy teenager he'd pulled over earlier in the day.

Fang just stared at me like I was a completely new person. Maybe I was.

• • •

"I swear to God, Tyler, I will open a can of crazy girlfriend on you if you try to pick me up again," Brittany threatened through nervous laughter. Tyler advanced toward her with his wings open, his hands out ahead of him in caution.

"Jesus Christ, for the billionth time, I'm _not _gonna drop you!"

"That's reassuring, honey, but I trust the ground a little more than I trust you."

Tyler frowned. "You would really regret saying that if a sinkhole opened up and swallowed you where you stood. Guess where you'd be safe from sinkholes, Britt? In the _air_."

"Tyler," Brittany said nervously. "I'm not built for…that." She looked up at the sky, which was now a nice shade of pink. I was sitting on the porch, watching the kids fly around. Well, most of them were flying, up in the air. I could easily spot the small dots on the horizon. It was a little harder telling who was who, though. I, on the other hand, was grounded. Literally. Mom said it wasn't safe for me to be flying while pregnant, especially this far along, and I was supposed to take it easy for the next couple months.

Aria sighed from where she stood by her brother. "_I _won't drop you, Brittany. I have super strength."

"Will you cut it out?" Tyler said, pushing Aria back. He looked at Brittany. "God, Britt, I'm trying to be romantic and fly off into the sunset with you. How about if I drop you, I'll just transport to the ground and catch you before you're in any real danger. That's _if _I drop you. Which I won't."

Brittany glanced from Tyler, to Aria, to me. "I'll just chill here with your mom. Go. Go have fun."

Tyler gave Brittany one last look before running off and shooting into the air, his sister on his heels. Brittany and I watched.

"There's nothing like it," I said, staring up at them in the sky. I could feel Brittany's eyes on me.

"It looks terrifying, Mrs. R."

"It's incredible," I said with a grin. "Probably the coolest thing ever. We're special, you know, because we're built for it. Because that's how we were created. Tyler knows that. And he knows that people hate us because they're jealous that we have the power to do something they can't - _experience _something they can only dream about. He knows that people dream about flying. He's just trying to let you experience it, too. He wants you to see how amazing it is."

I saw Brittany's surprise in my peripheral vision as she stared at me. I laughed. I had a feeling she knew, just by the way she was gaping at me.

"And kissing up there," I added with a smirk, tilting my head up, "suspended in the air, the wind rushing around you, the thrill, the adrenaline…that's the _best_."

Brittany smiled when I finally looked over at her. "When?" she asked. As in, _When did you remember?_

"Today," I said, smiling back. Tyler landed and grabbed his can of soda from the porch railing.

"Brittany, are you sure? I'll go slow, I promise! No tricks," he pleaded. Brittany sighed and stood up.

"Tyler Ride, if you drop me it will be the last thing you do," she mumbled. Tyler beamed at us.

I smiled, looking at Tyler. "It's a lot of extra work, carrying another person. Be careful. Get Aria's help if you need it. And don't take her too high, she doesn't have air sacs."

"Mom, you miracle worker! Come on, Britt. I'll show you my favorite spot. It's a perfect night, the sky is a million different colors. You're going to love it, I promise…" he trailed off, carefully picking her up, bridal style.

As the two of them slowly ascended, Fang sat down next to me on the porch. I could hear the others slowly trickle out of the house. Nudge and Angel immediately decided to run off and join the kids in the air. I heard the others finding chairs to sit in or drinks to open. Fang leaned close to me, his lips at my ear.

"You're pretty sneaky, Mrs. Ride. When did you remember that party?" Fang asked softly. The silent question was there, too. _Did you remember it all? Everything?_

"When I hit my head on your desk," I said, grinning. "…Fangface." _Everything. _

Fang smiled, a real smile, and his eyes held more happiness and relief than I could ever remember seeing. Which, of course, was saying something, since I could now remember _everything_.

It was like looking in the pantry a thousand times for food, and never finding anything. And then, suddenly you look in the pantry again, and it's stocked with food. Except, well, the pantry was my brain. The food was my memories. It was like, in seconds, my entire life came back to me. No grand revelation, no ceremony, nothing. They just appeared in my head, as clear as they'd been before my accident.

I guess it was true what they said about head injuries. I'd always thought it was a joke that if you hit your head again, you could remember everything amnesia made you forget. Or, maybe it had nothing to do with the fact that I smacked my head on Fang's desk. All I knew was that I remembered everything, and I was no longer a stranger to my own world. And Fang wasn't just my husband I'd met six months ago…he was my best friend and the love of my life and basically my everything. I smiled at him.

Fang grabbed the back of my head and smashed his mouth to mine.

"What the hell does _Fangface _mean?" Ella muttered. Aaron and Iggy just laughed. They were the only other people who knew about Fang's nickname except for me. The others had been too little, and Fang never wanted me to tell them. Go figure.

"Maybe they have some weird, vampire role-play thing going on," Gazzy offered.

"That's an idea," Emma muttered.

"I'm going to suck your blood!" Gazzy said in Fang's voice.

Fang teasingly bit my lip. I pulled away from him. "Fuck off, Gazzy."

"Oh, wow, she's back," Gazzy muttered, looking affronted.

"Seriously Max, what is Fangface?"

"That's Fang's full name," I said jokingly. He grimaced but didn't let go of me.

So I told the story.

_I _told the story this time.

The others laughed, when I told them about my childhood name for Fang. And after Gazzy promised to never let Fang live it down, we reminisced for the rest of the night.

I could feel it change, in that moment. I could feel the tentativeness and worries of the others dissipate. I could feel my family get closer, happier.

I'd done this all for them. Ever since we were kids, it had always been about keeping them safe. Protecting the flock. Guarding the flock.

Dylan going after my kids, my family, was all apart of my consequences for past mistakes. For not getting rid of him a long, long time ago. His destruction was _my consequence_.

Shooting Dylan in an attempt to save my family led to another consequence, though. It led to the happiness and safety that my entire family felt. It led to the laughter and smiles and teasing and joking. It led to my relief at the fact that all of the running and fear was finally over _forever_.

It helped with the guilt and the pain, knowing I'd had a reason to kill him.

Knowing that it was my job to take that risk.

Knowing that I hadn't really had a choice.

Knowing that consequences aren't all bad in the end, after all.

**A/N: Epilogue is next. EEK.**

**I am really scared because I don't want it to be over, but really excited because I hope you all LOVE it. **

**Okay, I can tell what you are all ****expecting ****from the epilogue: Years into the future, Max and Fang have a new baby boy/girl (twins? triplets?) running around. Their life is hectic, their family is happy. Cue jokes and fights and laughs and tears and an all-around predictable ending complete with the flock and their budding families and relationships. **

**NOPE. NOT EVEN CLOSE. HAHA- **

**Seriously, you think I'd be predictable NOW? When it all counts **_**for real**_**? As if. **

**Three questions, before you go and bite your fingernails is suspenseful waiting for the epilogue - which will probably be up tomorrow. **

**1. Which was your favorite of the trilogy and WHY. Y'all better give me a reason!**

**2. Who was your favorite OC and WHY?**

**3. What is your real name? **

**Bonus question: Are you excited for my sneak peek at my new AH/AU story coming in April? **

**Tell meeeee. **


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Shit. I didn't mean to say April! It's coming in _September_, people! I don't know why I wrote April. Don't listen to me, I'm crazy. MY AU/AH STORY IS COMING IN SEPTEMBER. Okay. **

**Oh, my God. I love you guys. **

**I wasn't trying to be a total creeper on here! Promise! When I asked for your names I was just plain curious…then when I saw some names I was like, "I know someone with that name…hopefully they aren't the same person. If they find out this is me I have to delete this story then this account then move to Botswana." **

**Special thanks to: Shelsha, arose21, N0601859, TrisEverdeen, larafares, Resisting-Moonlight, SnowWhiteQueen802, Shuffles, FANG GIRL, Sorry I Just Did, Kalico37, RandsomeHandsome, AlyLuvsYou, Gwyn, aries4me, jetthedog, pancakes-for-you, Kyla of the Desert, Totalbooknerd13, Katy, eliezha, TwiPotterHungerRidePercyLiars, Serenaisbestzrq387, MaximumLaughterLoves, marietheham, LunarEclipse327, Person, Chocolatechipcookies13, Fudge Nibblits, Nynyluvsjake, 3ThingsWithWings, Lime Heart, bunnylover, greysky3, Taywoodr, awkotaco14, Life-Just-Bites-Back, Flygrrl, awesomealpha11, dawnbrightstars, OJsmybestfriend, SilentEcho326, TurtlewithWings, kateflowerchild13, Su, Becca, officiallydana, Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Cherry Bomb, Claire, Ainahs, PolkdottedPandas, AinsleyWright, ElementalDragonSlayer, LovePercabeth4eva, FaxlastsForever, icywhisperingkiss, BooksAreMyLife22, and SO MANY MORE. Thank you guys for reading my trilogy and supporting me. God! It is so freaking cool! **

**Back in February, I uploaded the first chapter of Risks thinking my story was going to crash and burn. **

**LOOK AT US NOW. Thanks guys I seriously don't know what I'd do without you. **

**We have so many reviews it's insane!**

**Epilogue: **_Three Months Later_

If you would've told me, when I was fifteen, that I was going to shoot and kill Dylan, I probably would've laughed in your face.

Then again, if you would've told me that I was going to go into labor for the sixth time in a broken elevator with only Tyler and Aaron as my witnesses, I would have determined you insane. Then probably asked you who the fuck Tyler was.

And look at me now.

Just hold your laughter for one goddamn second, okay?

It was a full week after, yes _after _my due date, so I was really just a ticking time bomb. The doc (aka Mom) told me to just take it easy and be ready for it to happen…any day now. Seriously. The suspense was _killing _me.

It was a Saturday, and Fang just _had _to go into work. Today of all days. Guh. We were having lunch up at his office. Tyler was going to drive me up there because…well, because I hated going out in public alone. Everyone looked at me, and I automatically knew what they are thinking. _She's a killer. She shot that man in cold blood. No one deserves to die._ _She's going to hell. _

Well, the truth hurts. If it came down to it, and your kids were on the line, you better fucking take action. I did.

Anyways. Tyler wanted to use the van anyways - Fang and I were going to get him his own car, whenever he got a _job _- so I told him to drive me to his dad's office then take the van. Fang had told me he would be ready to leave after lunch anyways, so he could just drive us both home.

Why wasn't I just transporting to Fang's office, you ask? Mom said that, just to be safe, I shouldn't try transportation while this far along with the baby. So, not being able to fly or transport or really drive (comfortably or safely) I decided to pay Tyler twenty bucks and grant him the keys to the van.

When we got to the building, Tyler parked on the street and we both walked inside and took the elevator up. It dinged on Fang's floor and we both walked out into the busy newsroom.

"I'm so thirsty," Tyler said. "There anything to drink around here?"

I pointed down the hall at a break room. "Vending machines."

He nodded and headed off in that direction. "Hey," I called. "Don't leave without saying goodbye!"

He waved his hand, as if to say, _Okay, Mom_. I made a face after him. Then I walked over to Hayden.

"Hey, Max," Hayden said, her fingers clacking on her keyboard. "He isn't busy."

"Thanks," I said. So, I waddled on into Fang's office.

"Hey," he said, standing up from his desk chair. "How are you feeling?"

I shrugged, moving over to him. When he put his arms around me, I caught a glimpse of the picture of us on his desk, fresh and rip-free, in a brand new frame. "Fine," I mumbled, sitting in his cushiony chair. Fang sat in front of me on his desk.

"So, you know what I realized?" he asked, tossing a rubber-band ball up in the air a few times.

"What?"

"Now that we moved my desk into our room to make room for the baby," he said, grinning at me, "we can technically fool around in one of my offices without having to leave the bedroom."

I rolled my eyes.

"It won't be nearly as fun as doing stuff _here_, but I'll take what I can get," he said.

I smirked. "Once we finish the basement, you'll get a new and improved office down there."

Fang shrugged. "I know. Alright, I just gotta send these spreads to Hamilton and then we can go-"

"Hey, guys!"

Fang and I looked at his door to see Aaron, decked out in uniform.

I sighed. "I miss wearing that uniform."

"Well, keep missing it," Fang said with a stern voice.

I frowned at him, waving my hand in dismissal. "Being a cop was fun."

"Yeah, isn't almost dying and becoming everyone's least favorite guy in town just the best?" Aaron said sarcastically. "Hey, I was in the area and wanted to know what you were doing for lunch…but now that Max is here, I'm guessing she beat me to it."

I held up my hand, showing my wedding ring. "Fifteen years ago. You're a little late to the party."

Aaron rolled his eyes.

"You can come, too," I said, standing up out of Fang's chair. Fang shot me a look. "Honey, it's not like we're going to do anything but eat," I said realistically, motioning to my belly. He seemed to realize that was true. Then he nodded.

"Sure, Aaron."

Then Fang looked at me with newfound curiosity. "Did you drive here?"

I shook my head. "Tyler brought me. He's going to go to Brittany's after. He's somewhere in the building now. Aria took Cass to the mall today, without me even making her. Alex is with Ella and Ig."

Fang nodded. "Okay, let's go."

We left Fang's office and Fang gave the spreadsheets to Hayden. Just as we were about to get on the elevator, someone called, "Hey, Fang! Wait up!"

A man ran forward and grabbed Fang's arm. "I got something I really need your opinion on, before you leave."

Fang nodded, glancing back at me and Aaron. "I'll meet you at the truck, okay?"

Aaron nodded, hitting the button for the elevator again. I peered around the corner, looking for Tyler. Someone poked me in the back.

"Mom!"

I jumped and stifled a shriek, earning a few amused glances. I spun on Tyler. "Do not sneak up on your pregnant mother," I hissed. "I almost peed my pants."

Tyler cackled and slipped into the opening elevator doors. Aaron punched the button for the lobby and the doors closed. I felt the elevator bump-bump-bump into movement and tried to calm my nervousness. _I hate elevators_.

"Any day now, huh?" Aaron said, pointing to my bulging abdomen. I gave him a withering look.

"More like last Sunday," I breathed. I ran my hand over my stomach. "He just loves me so much he doesn't want to leave."

Aaron smirked. He leaned down and whispered, "Did Gazzy tell you that Em might be pregnant?"

My eyes widened. "No! He told _you_?" Why would he tell Aaron and not me? Petty jealousy flooded my veins before I could help it.

"He told Ig, Ig told me. Don't tell Fang. Emma just mentioned the _possibility _to Gaz and he flipped."

I laughed. "Fang is going to kick Gazzy's ass…" Their wedding was in six months, and if Emma was pregnant for that, the Gasman was going to have hell to pay.

"What?" Tyler asked nosily, leaning toward Aaron and I. "Aunt Em is _what_?"

"Nothing," I said immediately. "Shush. Don't tell Dad."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Please. I wouldn't do that to Uncle Gazzy."

I laughed again. Aaron grabbed my wrist. I looked at him, noticing the urgent look in his eyes. "What?"

Aaron let out a chuckle despite the look in his eyes. "I know you've done this a few times, but it shouldn't go _unnoticed_." For a second, I didn't realize what he meant. Meaning: For a second, I wasn't in complete panic.

For. A. Second.

Then two things happened instantaneously. One, I noticed that my pants were wet. Two, the elevator jerked to a stop, making my brain rattle and my heart sink.

"What?" Tyler asked, staring at my pants. I had a feeling he knew but didn't want to believe it.

"My water broke," I said slowly, trying not to hyperventilate. I could feel the panic attack enveloping me. "Aaron-"

"You know, Tyler," Aaron said thoughtfully. "I was with your mom when she went into labor with you. She was _hysterical_-"

"Aaron!"

He looked at me. "Does it hurt that bad?"

My wide, anxious eyes looked between Aaron and Tyler. "Did no one else notice that the elevator stopped but the doors haven't opened?"

Their faces, in any other situation, would've been priceless. But I was minutes away from having this kid on the floor in the elevator, so I didn't dare laugh.

My breath was coming in fast, short pants. I almost couldn't breathe. The pain hadn't hit me - not yet, anyways - but there was absolutely no way I was going to risk having this kid on the floor in a small confined space without medical attention. Hell to the no. Not happening. I would've transported out to Fang, but Mom told me not to, and I was terrified of doing anything that could hurt the baby.

"Aaron…" I moaned again. This time, it hurt. Bad. I gasped, bracing my hand against the wall. Tyler looked at me fearfully and hit the emergency button. Nothing happened. Ugh.

"No, no, no…I can't do this," Tyler said, shaking his head. "I refuse to witness this. No."

Aaron helped lower me to the ground. "Transport to the lobby. Get security, tell them to get us out of here. Tell your dad-"

But Tyler was already gone. I pulled out my cell phone at the same time Aaron got out his. Whoever he called answered first. Aaron grabbed my hand.

"Dr. Martinez, we have a situation."

He paused. Then: "Max is in labor and the two of us are in a broken elevator."

Oh, my God. It all sunk in right there. All my biggest fears: being stuck in a small space, having my baby without medicine, putting my baby in danger, not to mention giving birth without Fang…

I was sobbing uncontrollably when Fang answered his phone. "Max?"

"I can't lose him, Fang," I cried, one of my hands cradling my stomach. "I can't lose him!"

Before I could blink, Fang was standing in front of me and Aaron in the elevator. He dropped to his knees.

"Here? Seriously?" he got out, grabbing my hand. Aaron was repeating commands under his breath. I had to choke out a laugh - we were all so unprepared, I almost felt young again. As if this was my first kid or something.

"I know," I gasped, another contraction rolling through me. I gritted my teeth and forced out, "This kid is already a handful."

He laughed, grabbing my hand. "Are you okay?"

"Do I fucking look okay?" I growled. "It hurts like hell. What is my mom saying?"

Aaron looked at me. "She's on her way. She's telling me that you need to calm the fuck down."

I gave Aaron a look. "My mom did _not _say fuck."

He smirked. "She said you need to slow your breathing. If you pass out this is going to be a lot harder on Fang and I."

AS IF I WAS WORRYING ABOUT HOW HARD THIS WAS GOING TO BE FOR THEM.

"Ha! Pass out? I wish," I moaned. "What else?"

"How far apart are your contractions?"

Just when he asked that, another one hit hard. I choked back a scream. "Not…far…enough," I ground out, gripping both of their hands. Aaron repeated my report to my mom.

"You're killing my hand," Aaron commented.

AS IF I CARED. FOR REAL AARON. SHUT THE HELL UP.

"Aaron, let's see you give birth to a kid in an elevator while battling claustrophobia. Yeah?"

Aaron stared at me. Then he said, "Yeah, Dr. M, she's doing great."

"DO NOT LIE TO MY MOTHER."

Fang shoved Aaron out of the way, mumbling that he wasn't helping at all.

"Baby, you need to calm down, okay?" he whispered. "You're fine, he's fine. Just be calm so he can be calm, too. Tyler's going to get us out of here and I promise you won't give birth in an elevator."

"If the contractions get any closer together, Dr. M said we're going to have to take over."

I glanced from Aaron, who'd just shared that wonderful news, to Fang. He shook his head.

"It's fine," Fang said softly. "Take deeps breaths. Does it hurt?"

"Not as much anymore," I mumbled. "Get me the hell out of here, Fang."

"I would if I could," he said. He smiled at me while I focused on my breathing. _Love you. _

_You too, _I thought, wiping my eyes.

"Hang on, Dr. M," Aaron said. He held his phone up, pointed at me. "I promised Ig I'd videotape the birth of Fangface Jr."

I reached out and grabbed Aaron's shirt, dragging him closer to me. "I will not…name my son…Fangface…Jr."

"You're fine," Fang reassured me, uncurling my fist from Aaron's shirt. He was also trying not to laugh. After about two minutes, Fang said he was going to have to get me out of my pants. I took a moment to be thankful that Aaron didn't crack any jokes at that one. Just as Fang was pulling down my elastic-waist jeans, the elevator jerked and we dropped a few feet. Then the doors slowly opened. Waiting in the lobby were two medical people and a gurney.

"Hi, honey," my mom said, pushing through the crowd. I almost sobbed with relief. Fang scooped me into his arms, setting me gently on the gurney.

"Hospital is five minutes away," Mom said, cutting to the chase. "Can you make it five minutes?"

I started crying again. "Jesus, I can make it ten, as long as I don't have to give birth in the elevator."

She smiled at me. "Alright," she said. She looked at the two medical guys who were at either ends of my gurney. "To the hospital."

Fang, Aaron and Tyler all climbed into the emergency vehicle with me, and once they had rolled me into a delivery room at the hospital, Fang leant down and kissed me. Nudge had arrived and reached behind my head, pulling my hair up.

"This baby is in a rush," Mom said with a smile. "It won't be much longer, now."

I looked at her. "Guess he's making up for lost time. Is he-"

"He's fine," Mom said. "We're monitoring both your and his heart rates. Don't you worry. Everything is fine."

I nodded, turning my head to look at Fang. _Our baby's going to be born today. _

He smiled, stroking my cheek. _Within the next ten minutes, by the look of things. _Another contraction hit, this one stronger than all the ones before it. Mom checked me.

"Honey, it's time for you to push," she said.

Fang glanced back at my mom and nodded. Then he looked at me, and the look on his face was a mixture of excitement and happiness. And a little bit of amusement. Damn, he was going to pay for that. Getting joy out of my agony…

"Alright, baby, on the count of three," he murmured.

"Fang," I gasped, cutting off his countdown.

"What?" he asked.

I grabbed the front of his shirt. "We are not having another kid after this. Understand?"

He nodded at me, holding back laughter. "Understood."

We stared at each other, both cracking a smile in the midst of all that madness.

"This is so exciting!" Nudge said. "Tyler! Come here, witness your brother's birth!"

"You couldn't _pay _me to witness that," Tyler deadpanned in the background.

Fang kissed me one last time, and somehow that made everything feel ten times better. In seconds, he was finally going to be here, our third son. Our fifth kid. So many things were about to change. Fang smirked and I could tell he was agreeing with my thoughts. I'd summed it all up. In fact, when mom said I was fully dilated, he only had one thing to say:

"Ready?"

**A/N: THE END.**

**Sob. **

**If you want an insight into my writing process…I ALWAYS must have some sort of music playing. Here are the songs I listened to while writing this epilogue:**

**Nobody's in Love - 2am Club**

**Blood - The Middle East **

**Rock Me - One Direction**

**Springsteen - Eric Church**

**Mama's Broken Heart - Miranda Lambert**

**Lady Killers - G-Eazy & Hoodie Allen**

**To Build a Home - The Cinematic Orchestra**

**Marilyn - G-Eazy**

**Don't Let it Break Your Heart - Coldplay**

**Oh, my God. The trilogy is over and what am I going to do with my life?**

…**I guess I'll start perfecting my next story: **_**The Hardest Part**_**. NOTE: Title still pending. May change before I upload. This story is so rough right now that I don't even have a set title or summary. **

**SO, here's what I can tell you. Back in April, when my cousin died unexpectedly and I couldn't force myself to write the trilogy, I wrote this instead. It's a lot, lot different. Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Drama…that kind of shindig. **

**This sneak peek is actually the prologue to my story **_**The Hardest Part**_**. Here it is, without further ado:**

"It is four fifteen on Friday, February second. Max Ride is here for a one-hour session," he says into the recorder he uses every time I'm here. "Are you thirsty? Do you want something to drink?"

I shake my head, as per usual. Just like every day, at four fifteen, when Dr. Jackson asks me if I want a drink.

My arm rests in the same place on the same cushiony armchair that it always does. My fingers take up the familiar, nervous habit of picking at the loose string on the fabric under my hand. I stare straight ahead at the Picasso painting on the wall opposite of me, behind Dr. Jackson's desk. It's one back from his abstract days.

Dr. Jackson and I go through the same, boring routine. The same questions, the same answers. How was school? _Fine._ Do you have homework? _Not much. _How are you feeling today? _Okay. _What's on your mind? _Nothing. _Anything you want to talk about today? _No._

But even though I could run through the first twenty minutes of our usual sessions with my eyes closed, Jackson likes to keep me guessing with a few curveballs. He tries his best to get me to talk. But I don't want to be here - I never want to be here.

"Listen, Jack," I say. I call him Jack because Dr. Jackson's real name is Richard, and I can't shorten Richard without insinuating something ridiculously inappropriate. Adding to the list of problems I already have, one of them can't be that I'm making innuendos about my shrink's name. "Nothing has changed much since Monday's session. I have a lot of homework, so if you don't mind…"

"Max," Jack says, ignoring the fact that I told him about five minutes ago that I didn't have any homework. His hands are folded on his desk, his back perfectly erect. This guy never does anything wrong; he always had every paper in its proper place, never had one shoelace untied, and wore a different tie everyday. I've been meeting with this guy two times a week for two years. That's…a lot of ties. Am I right?

But really, if my parents wanted me to talk about my problems, maybe they should let me talk to someone else who also has a few flaws…Because I just couldn't relate to Jack here.

"Max, do you _want _to meet with me twice a week? Honestly?" he asks.

"No," I say.

"Then why do you?" he asks again, his eyes staring deeply into mine.

"Because my parents make me," I say. It's true. I can't say my parents have never cared about me; they did send me off to the shrink to get my issues sorted out. That's got to count for something, right?

"Why do your parents think you need to be here?"

This is when my breathing comes a bit shorter; a quick, erratic beat against my ribs. I block it out. I always, always block it out when Dr. Jackson asks me about it. Why are you here, Max? Why do you keep coming back, Max?

But I block it out. I refuse to tell him. Every single day, it's always the same answer. _I don't know. _He tries to pull it out of me, tries to get under my skin. Even wants to try hypnosis and go into my head to see what I am locking in the back of my mind. But I refuse. I tell him there is nothing for him to find. It would be a waste.

I tell him that every day until I believe it. Until I don't even know for sure if there is a reason I'm sitting in this chair or not.

"Max?"

He always pursues the question. It's like he wants me to predict his next step. But I stare at the Picasso painting and wonder what was going on in _his _head when he painted it. What was he trying to say through his art? And why didn't he just…say it instead of making it so difficult to understand? Maybe he didn't even understand it. Maybe he painted what he felt, and what he felt was so abstract that he painted it abstract, too.

"I don't know," I murmur, dimly wondering if I should take up painting. "I don't know why I'm here. And no, I don't really know why I keep coming back. No, I don't want to talk about my past, or what may have been traumatizing. No, I don't want to talk to you about my history with drugs and crime and whatnot. No. I just…don't want to talk."

Dr, Jackson looks at me for a moment, then down at his paperwork. He looks back up at me and studies me, like a true psychologist. He smiles tentatively.

"Well, I think that's all for today, Max. I'll see you next Monday at-"

Let me guess. Four fifteen.

**Only two questions this time:**

**1. What do you think about my short little teaser for **_**The Hardest Part**_**? It was the best I could give you without giving everything away…**

**2. Did you like the epilogue?**

**Thank you SO much for being awesome and supporting my trilogy. It feels SO WEIRD that it's over…what…I just can't even…**

**I am currently working on **_**The Hardest Part **_**and the next few installations of **_**That Moment When**_**. **

**I'm writing a "What if Angel was never kidnapped from the E house" story, too. That should be out HOPEFULLY later this year. I'm excited about that one for sure. **

**Not to mention another Post-Fang that may or may not be worth posting. We'll see.**

**You guys are so cool. Don't ever change. And…if you see my stories around…don't be afraid to click on me. I mean, seriously. Have I let you down yet? **

**Read on, **

**fangsallmine1123**


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